


Scarlet Horizons

by Bradleygirl



Series: Scarlet [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: AU, Angst, F/M, Family, Family Drama, M/M, Multi, Vampires, non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-15 01:52:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 35
Words: 171,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/843926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bradleygirl/pseuds/Bradleygirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a traumatic event leaves Kurt reeling, Dalton Academy opens it's doors and hearts to him.  Will Kurt truly find what's waiting for him out there or will fear continue to overshadow his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

“The Great Plagues of the early twentieth century decimated the human population and may have, ultimately, led to their extinction had it not been for its impact upon our community. As our primary source of food became tainted and we too began to feel the disease’s effects, our most learned minds began to work on the cure. It was one of our best and brightest, Dr. Fredrick Duvall, who finally discovered the cure hidden within our own DNA. The question then became: how do we deliver it to the humans without revealing our existence. The answer was simple… we couldn’t. Thus after millennium of hiding in the darkness and shadows, using the disguise of myth and legend to cloak our existence, the vampires finally stepped out into the light.”

-an excerpt from “Out of the Shadows: The History and Politics of the Great Reveal”   
By Lily Cohen-Chang Hughes

 

The three figures walked solemnly and silently down the marble halls. When one was called in front of The High Council of Vampire Covens…you appeared and were ready to answer any questions for as long as they asked. 

At last they reached a set of oak doors which the middle figure, after taking a deep, steadying breath, opened. The trio stepped not into what an outsider would expect a vampire council chamber to look like but instead into a modern office complete with three laptops sitting on the conference room table. The sun was streaming through the large windows. The three that had been summoned took their places across the table from the imposing figures of the Vampire Clan Chiefs, who were seated at the table, their hulking bodyguards lurking behind them.

“Would any of you like to explain to us how this situation was allowed to spiral out of control forcing us to intervene and act?” Andrew Cohen Chang stared at his daughter, Tina, her boyfriend Mike, and their friend, Noah Puckerman.

“Daddy, it was my fault.” Tina answered firmly meeting her father’s eyes. “I knew Karofsky was bullying Kurt, but I didn’t know to what extent, no one really did. I never thought it would ever reach this level. As a future leader of this Council, I should have caught what was happening and brought it to your attention. I am so sorry that I did not take action as one should.”

“You’ve made some mistakes which I hope you will learn from, that much is for certain.” Andrew nodded at his daughter, proud that she was facing the Council and explaining her actions. “However, the Karofsky situation is not all your fault. In fact, it is none of your faults. As the Council, we should have realized there was a vampire without guidance and stepped in years ago. What I want to know is why you made the suggestion that Kurt Hummel should be allowed to attend Dalton? We would like to hear your reasons today.”

“I have to say that I have my reservations.” Nathaniel Anderson remarked, playing devil’s advocate. “If we do this, what will the consequences be? For our council? For our community?”

Andrew nodded. “I understand your concern Nathaniel, but I’ve met Kurt. He and Tina have been friends for years. He was a complete innocent and this has destroyed him. We need to show him our honor and our sense of respect for life. We need to show him that we are not the monsters our ancestors were if there is any hope of helping this poor child come to terms with the incident and move forward with his life.”

“While I don’t dispute the facts, we have to think of the students at Dalton right now. You want us to let a mere human into one of our most sacred institutions?” Nathaniel asked, with a raised eyebrow at the three teens.

“Yes, Uncle Nathaniel. I do.” Tina answered. “He can’t return to McKinley because, even though it was Karofsky who attacked him, everyone blames Kurt for what happened. Even Kurt feels like this is his fault. He refuses to leave his home. We have to do something. We have to show him that we’re all not like that…that we can be trusted…that he is safe. It is our duty and our obligation to show Kurt that the vampire community does not condone Karofsky’s behavior.”

“I feel sympathy for the boy,” Nathaniel murmured. “I understand his pain like few do, however, that doesn’t mean this is the right path for him. Additionally, we need to consider the impact this will have on those already enrolled at Dalton. How will the vampires currently there feel when we allow a human to attend? This doesn’t just affect your friend, you know.”

“It could be a good thing for the Dalton boys to learn to interact more freely with humans,” Mike pointed out. “I know it has been quite an eye opener for myself and Noah to attend a primarily human school sir. They are infinitely more complicated than most of us realize.”

Andrew Cohen Chang glanced over at his co-council member. “There are no newborns attending school there and we can make sure he is properly supervised while he’s on campus. We can do this the right way for everyone if we allow him to attend the school.”

“I know Wesley and Blaine would be more than willing to assist Kurt as he makes the transition to the school.” Duncan Hughes remarked.

“And what of his parent’s feelings on this matter? Have any of you considered them?” Nathaniel questioned. “I don’t know that I would be keen on sending a child into a vampire school after being so recently attacked. We don’t even know if they are interested in Kurt attending Dalton.”

“Kurt’s dad would do anything to try to help his son. He can’t go back to McKinley and he’s already shutting himself off from everyone.” Puck countered confidently. “He’s always been there for everyone. He was the first human friend I made, and now he won’t even be in the same room as me. Mr. Hummel is at the end of his rope for what to do. We need to at least attempt to do something for them. What happened to Kurt wasn’t his fault. It’s not fair that he’s going through this. You’ve done things like this before for others. The fact that Kurt is human shouldn’t make a difference.”

“Puck is right. We’ve made this mess and we have to fix it. We all allowed it to happen. Kurt needs to be shown that all vampires aren’t like Karofsky.” Mike felt the need to add his own opinion. “Kurt was always so kind and welcoming to us. He never treated us any differently and he never said a bad word about vampires.”

“Please help him.” Tina pleaded.

“We will think about this. The three of you are dismissed.” Nathaniel, the highest ranking clan chief, intoned. Bowing politely, the young trio backed out of the room. 

 

The three clan chiefs waited until the younger vampires were gone before exchanging significant looks.

“Your thoughts, gentlemen?” Nathaniel Anderson questioned.

“That was quite an impassioned plea from those three.” Duncan said, glancing out of the window, not surprised to see storm clouds rolling in on what had promised to be a gorgeous day. He turned to the large vampire standing directly behind Nathaniel Anderson. “It’s nice to see your son is finally maturing somewhat. He seems quite concerned for his friend.”

“Noah thinks with his heart more than his head,” The man acknowledged with a deep rumble. “I’ve never seen him this angry or upset.”

“He has good reason to be. I’ve known Kurt Hummel since he was five. This has destroyed him,” Tina’s father murmured.

“Our emotions aside, their suggestion would be the perfect way to fix this problem that Karofsky created as well as broaden Kurt’s horizons. I still don’t think Karofsky was handled properly. Rogues are dangerous, not just to humans. Karofsky, in particular, is a loose cannon out there, even with the assigned mentor. I still believe that it is too late to correct him.” Nathaniel remarked.

“We are all aware of your thoughts on the matter Nathaniel and the reasons behind them; however, we must keep in mind that young Karofsky is a victim in this to some degree as well, although in a completely different manner than Kurt. We at least had to give him a chance to be rehabilitated,” Duncan pointed out.

”Gentlemen, please! I believe we have talked that situation to death and it is not our primary concern at the moment. Kurt Hummel is. Dalton could be quite beneficial to him, and he could be beneficial to the boys attending there. If we decide to do this, however, we’ll have to authorize scholarships.” Andrew Cohen Chang said. “Burt Hummel owns a garage in Lima and isn’t going to be able to cover tuition there.”

“You’ve thought this through I see, Andrew. I assume you are in favor of this idea?” Nathaniel inquired.

“Yes, I am. Kurt deserves every ounce of help we can offer; besides it has taken us a long time to gain the level of respect and prosperity we now enjoy. I will be damned if we let a rogue destroy everything we’ve managed to build for our community,” Andrew passionately declared. 

Nathaniel nodded, clearly considering Andrew’s words. The Anderson Clan chief was easily the most logical of the three and the least likely to be led by his emotions.

"Your thoughts, Duncan?” Nathaniel asked.

“Tina was right. I read the files on young Mr. Hummel and his life. Kurt is an innocent who has been damaged by one of us. We have to do everything possible to make sure this is not damaging to him any longer.” Duncan sighed heavily, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, or rather, all of their shoulders.

“What about the students at Dalton? Are they really going to accept Kurt as one of them?” Nathaniel questioned. 

“I’m certain that Blaine and Wesley will. They are honorable young vampires worthy of the titles they will one day receive.” Duncan said a touch arrogantly. He was justifiably proud of both his son and nephew. “The Warblers, of course, take their cues from the two of them, and the rest of Dalton follows the Warblers.” 

“Are you certain of that? It’s one thing to be polite in limited interactions, but to be truly welcoming of a human invading their inner sanctum on a daily basis? Especially one who is likely to be less than welcoming of any offer of friendship? Who may in fact be hostile towards them, at least initially?” Andrew asked. As much as he hoped that Dalton would help Kurt, he knew it would only make things worse if the students there were not welcoming to him.

“Duncan and I will make sure both Wesley and Blaine are aware of Kurt’s situation, perhaps Tina could even do so as she knows the boy on a personal level.” Nathaniel supplied. “They will undoubtedly wish to help him, however they can. I believe that, in addition to being good for the Hummel boy, it would be good for all of the younglings attending Dalton to have a better understanding of humans. I too believe that it could, in fact, benefit all of us in the long run. Perhaps it could even help to eliminate some of the prejudice that exists amongst the more conservative families.”

“I concur, although I think perhaps including young Nicholas in your talk with Wesley and Blaine might prove beneficial as well. He has an understanding of the situation few others will,” Andrew added. Nathaniel sent him a sour look.

“You realize telling Nick means including Jeffrey as well?” He asked. Andrew smirked.

“Why do you think I said your talk? In the meantime, I will get to work on the paperwork and scholarship.” Andrew Cohen Chang remarked. “Who gets the pleasure of dealing with Burt Hummel face to face? The man may be a human, but he can be scary as hell when it comes to his son’s well-being.”

“I know three people for that job.” Nathaniel grinned widely, his own fangs barely peeking out from his lip.

*****

Mike, Tina, and Puck were glad that Burt had allowed them into the house. They were keenly aware that Kurt was upstairs barricaded in his room and wouldn’t come down to see them or interrupt the important conversation they were there to have with Burt, although a part of them couldn’t help but wish that he would. They, particularly Tina, missed their friend.

“What are you three doing here?” Burt tiredly asked. He knew Kurt’s friends meant well, but they really needed to quit trying so hard because Kurt wasn’t having any of it and that was disappointing to him. “You know he won’t see you.”

“We know sir,” Tina said. “We didn’t actually come to see Kurt though. We came to see you.”

“Me?” Burt said frowning. “Why?”

“We are actually here as emissaries of the Vampire Council. They have decided to offer Kurt a rare opportunity in recompense for what he suffered through,” Tina said, standing to her full height and allowing her authority as the heir to the Clan Chief of the Cohen-Changs to show through, something she rarely, if ever did.

“Oh?” Burt said raising an eyebrow in a gesture that was painfully reminiscent of his son. Tina merely nodded, handing Burt the packet of information about Dalton. 

“Dalton Academy?” Burt asked suspiciously.

“It is an entirely vampire school. I have two cousins who attend there. The High Council decided that they had to do something after everything that has happened.” Tina answered. “He would receive a full scholarship and be able to get counseling to help him recover. It’s a good school, Mr. Hummel and they have the right motives for being interested in Kurt.”

“You really think Kurt is going to want to go to an all vampire school? You guys terrify him and he’s known you forever.” Burt said bluntly.

“He’ll probably hate the idea,” Tina admitted. “We’re hoping it will work like immersion therapy though. Force him to face his fears so that he can overcome them.”

“Humph,” Burt snorted looking over the brochure in his hand before looking at the three vampires in front of him. “Says here that Dalton is one of the top educational institutes in the country. If this is such a great school, why don’t the three of you go there?” 

“They don’t take girls.” Tina said. “I could have gone to Crawford, Dalton’s sister school; however, my father wanted me to go to public school. He felt it would broaden my horizons and help me to be a better leader someday.”

“Tina and I are mated and I can’t bear to be away from her.” Mike honestly answered. 

“I got kicked out,” Puck shrugged.

“This is an all-boys school?” Burt raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about Mr. Hummel at least for a while.” Puck stepped up with another smirk. “Kurt is afraid of all vampires and I don’t think he’s going to let any one of them in his pants.”

“That really doesn’t make me feel better, Puckerman.” Burt snorted. He knew one day his son would find a boyfriend and even though he wasn’t ready for that quite yet, with the condition Kurt was currently in, Burt was willing to risk it. Hell if his son did get a boyfriend at least it would mean that he was actually talking to people besides him and that he was venturing beyond the confines of his bedroom.

“It’s a good school, academically, and I really think it might be just what Kurt needs. At least if he still wants to be in New York.” Tina said thoughtfully. “We all know he’s trying to shut out the world, at least according to Finn, and we wanted to do something…anything that we could.”

“Finn has a big mouth.” Burt glared, wondering just how much of their family business his step-son was sharing with other people.

“We just want Kurt to be safe in the world, Mr. Hummel. He’s going to have to learn to deal with vampires out there. We’re not going away and we don’t want our friend to shut himself away. Dalton will allow him to do that in a very controlled environment.” Tina was saddened that she and Kurt had become estranged because of that big stupid bully. “We don’t want him to become a recluse like he’s already trying to do.”

“I’ll have to think about it and talk with Kurt, but thanks for bringing all the information.” Burt held the papers in his hands. He needed time to think about whether this was a good idea for his son and their family.

As they were leaving, Puck turned giving him an uncharacteristically serious look.

“I know this is a lot for you to take in Mr. H and it may seem like a really stupid idea on the surface, but I know these guys. They’ll help him. They might even be the only ones who can,” He said before closing the door behind him and joining Mike and Tina in their car.

Burt took the weekend to look over the papers that included information on a full scholarship for Kurt’s entire high school career. He was shocked that vampires who had never met them had offered this to his son. He also found a personal letter from the Vampire Council addressed to him in the paperwork and he took the words written to heart. What really sold him were his son’s increasingly frequent refusals to leave his room, however. If he didn’t do something to help him, Kurt was going to become a recluse and Burt was out of ideas and desperate. He wasn’t positive if this was the right thing to do for their family and for his son, but at this point he was willing to try anything. If nothing else, Kurt would be forced to leave his room and he’d get an excellent education. Decision made, Burt steeled himself for what was bound to be a very uncomfortable talk with Kurt.

****

“No! I will not go!” Kurt stubbornly refused, arms crossed defensively over his chest.

“Yes, you will,” Burt responded, equally stubborn.

“Why do I have to go there?” Kurt bitterly complained. “What possible benefit could I gain from this? Unless you’re trying to get rid of me and presenting me as the next meal for a school of vampires is the most expedient way you can think of doing it.”

“Kurt, now you’re just being ridiculous. I have made my decision and its final, young man. You got it?” Burt patiently replied. “You were invited by one of the best schools around here. You’re gonna get a great education and they’ve promised to help you with your problems and frankly Kurt, I don’t know how else to help you.”

“But I don’t want to go.” Kurt realized he sounded like a child, but he was not happy with this decision and felt that his father was ignoring his complaints. “My friends and family are here. Not there and everyone knows that Dalton is just a front for the vampire community.”

“You mean the family and friends you’ve completely cut yourself off from? And there is nothing wrong with vampires.” Burt took a breath, trying to be patient with his son. He had two employees at the garage that were vampires and they were wonderful employees and friends. “You’ve got to stop holding a whole race of people responsible for what one person did.” Burt practically pleaded with his son, trying to be a loving father, while holding his ground. 

“They’re not people. They’re vampires. They just want you to think they’re harmless. It’s what I believed until Karofsky came after me.” Kurt shuddered at the memory. He hadn’t gone back to school and had been contemplating getting his GED to finish out high school. He had even cut off his friends at McKinley because he couldn’t be around vampires, even ones he’d known all his life like Mercedes, Tina, Mike, and Puck.

“Most vampires are not like him Kurt. This school is safe. I wouldn’t send you there if it wasn’t. They don’t condone the types of things Karofsky did to you. You will be okay.” Burt said as his son glared at him. “God Kurt I wish that I could wave a magic wand and fix this, but I can’t do that and it’s killing me. I’m supposed to make everything all better for you and this time I don’t know how. This is all I got kid. This is my last resort.” 

“Can’t I just take the GED test?” Kurt pleaded. His father had refused him every single time he’d asked before, but he couldn’t help himself.

“No, because those colleges you want to attend won’t accept a GED. Dalton might even help get you into one of those schools and honestly son, you are never going to get over this if you refuse to leave the house.” Burt knew how much college and leaving Lima meant to his son. He felt guilty for using that as an enticement, but it was all he had left.

Kurt would never admit that college was on his mind and if he got out of Lima, he could leave all the memories of Karofsky behind him. “I know, but Dalton, really?”

“It’s safe, Kurt. I have had conversation after conversation with the people from Dalton and they assure me that nothing like what happened at McKinley will happen to you there.” Burt had asked a lot of questions and the Dalton representative had patiently answered all of them, leaving him confident in what Dalton Academy could provide his son.

“Are there other humans going to school there?” Kurt wondered. It was bad enough he was being forced to go; he didn’t want to be alone on top of it.

“Um…no…you’re the first human they’ve let attend.” Burt answered.

“Then why me and why now?” Kurt asked. He just had a gut feeling that something else was going on here.

“Because you are talented and intelligent and you deserve to have a good education. The vampire community felt that after the Karofsky mess, they had to do something to help.” Burt replied with a reassuring hand on Kurt’s shoulder. Every time they discussed the incident, Kurt seemed to turn inward and away from him.

“So, this is a publicity campaign for the vampires, then? You’re just letting them use me?” Kurt wasn’t impressed. In fact, he was a little irritated that he was being used as some stunt for the vampire community to look better.

“Kurt, come on. I don’t see it like that and you shouldn’t either.” Burt just wished parenting was easier when your kid became a teenager, but it was a hell of a lot harder than he’d ever imagined, especially when that kid was Kurt.

“Fine, since I have no choice, when do I start attending this fine academic institution?” Kurt asked bitterly, resigning himself to the idea.

“Monday, Kurt. I think starting the first day of the week is a good impression,” Burt repeated himself. “Monday.”

“I said fine, Dad, but I don’t think making a good impression is all that important with a bunch of vampires.”

“Just be glad this school doesn’t have a dress code. You’d never make it.” Burt teased, hoping to lighten up the moment.

“Dad!” Kurt shouted.

“Son, just go and see how the first weeks go. If you really still hate it and are uncomfortable, we will figure something else out.” Burt offered. He just knew in his heart that Kurt would like Dalton and do well there.


	2. Chapter Two

“Founded in 1872, just after the Civil War, The Dalton Academy for Boys has had a long standing tradition of churning out fine, respectable members of the Vampire Community, a tradition which it has always upheld. Never was a human soul allowed to pass through its gate, alive that is, until the early twenty-first century when all of our conventions were shattered by the arrival of a slim blue-eyed human who would impact our school, our community, and one group of boys in particular in ways no one could ever have expected.”

-An excerpt from “The History of Dalton Academy for Boys” by Phillip Schaffer

 

“So, why does he get to go to a new school?” Finn bitterly complained to his step-father at the family dinner that night. Burt sighed; grateful for once that Kurt had refused to leave his room.

“Because he can’t go back to McKinley and Dalton offered him a full scholarship and they want to help him deal with the attack.” Burt patiently explained. Finn had been so angry that Kurt was suddenly getting all kinds of new perks. 

“Still not fair.”

“Life’s not fair, Finn.” Burt sighed. “If it was, Kurt wouldn’t have been attacked by that…that bully.” 

“Yeah, poor Kurt.” Finn muttered, resentfully before getting up from the table and heading for the door. “I’m going to Rachel’s.”

“He’s right you know,” Carole said after her son was gone. “You do treat Kurt like he’s made of glass or something. If you keep doing that, Burt, he’s always going to think he’s better than everyone else like he does now. You should just make him go back to McKinley.”

“You honestly expect me to send him back there?” Burt asked, shocked. 

“It would be better for him. You’re babying him Burt, allowing him to completely overdramatize this whole thing,” Carole responded.

“I am not babying him and he was attacked. I don’t think he’s being dramatic. You’re just ticked off because it’s Kurt being offered something good for once and not Finn,” Burt angrily shot back. Carole narrowed her eyes at Burt.

“I’m going upstairs. I’ll talk to you later when you’re willing to listen to reason,” she said storming off. Burt sighed. This was turning out to be a banner day. He just hoped all of the fighting was worth it and this school really helped his son.

 

*****

Monday morning, Kurt pulled up to the twelve foot iron bar gates and punched in his code that he’d been assigned and watched as the gates opened, admitting him onto the campus. As he drove past, he couldn’t help but hear his heart pounding in his ears as the gates clanged and locked closed. He was now, essentially, trapped with a bunch of vampires that likely wanted to hurt him.

He slowly drove down the drive at Dalton and found his allotted parking space. Making sure his doors were locked, Kurt fought the urge to run, swinging his bag over his shoulder and approaching the doors. He was stopped in his tracks by four vampires all with toothy smiles that immediately put him on edge. Kurt would swear that they’d been sharpening their fangs just for him. He couldn’t help the shudder that rolled through him as he approached the boys.

“Can we help you?” A blond haired boy asked with a feral grin. “On second thought, I think you can help me instead.”

“Um, yeah. I was supposed to start school here today.” Kurt knew his voice wavered, but the shock of seeing four large vampires with no one else around had hit him harder than he’d expected. All he could see was the eyes of predators; looking at him and sizing him up like one does with a steak.

“Really?” The blond haired boy in the group asked. “How enticing! I’ve never spent much time with a human before.”

“No sense changing that now. If you would just get out of my way so I can check in, I would appreciate it.” Kurt shoved down his feelings of fear down. He wasn’t going to be bullied here either. This was supposed to be a fresh start.

“No, I think I rather like talking to you. You’re making my Monday very entertaining.” The blonde haired boy said, flashing a feral smile which died on his face as Kurt paled and retreated several steps.

“Please…” He stuttered, feeling panicked.

“Hey… I didn’t mean to…” The young vampire began, only to be interrupted by a stern, distinctly authoritative voice.

“Boys, what is going on here?” Headmaster Schaffer looked very disapprovingly at the group gathered in front of the doors. “Ah, Mr. Hummel, I am so glad to see you here. You will be an asset to Dalton Academy. Why don’t you come with me and we’ll get your schedule and paperwork completed. Boys, you should get yourselves to class before you’re late.”

“Yes, sir. Bye Kurt. We look forward to seeing you again.” A dark haired boy smiled at Kurt and turned to follow the rest of his friends down the hall.

****

Nick shook his head. “Seriously, guys? Come on…we’re supposed to make friends with him, not terrify him. We want him to be comfortable here. We are also not undressing him with our eyes, Jeffery!”

“Can you blame me?” Jeff couldn’t help as his distinctive smirk crawled on his face. “He was cute and smelled so yummy. I wouldn’t mind spending some serious quality time with him.”

“Sometimes I wonder why I am friends with you Jeff,” Nick said in exasperation.

“Because I’m irresistible?” Jeff smirked with a knowing look.

“Flirting with everything that moves does not make one irresistible, Jeffery.” Wes said sternly. “You terrified him. I would have thought you’d know better than that. Puck is going to kill you.”

“I didn’t mean to and Puck loves me,” Jeff muttered, pouting. “Besides, I was trying to be friendly.”

Wes ignored the other boy and focused on his cousin. “And Blaine, what was up with you? You were in a complete daze.”

Blaine looked away, embarrassed. “Sorry. But Jeff is right….did you see him?”

“Leave it to Blaine to be attracted to the boy who can’t stand vampires. You always want the one you can’t have.” Nick sighed. This was not good for any of them.

“Can we talk about something else now?” Blaine asked, desperate for the attention to be off of him.

“We have to try harder and be nicer. It’s our duty to help him see the better sides of who we are.” Wes said.

“Some things are easier said than done.” Jeff remarked as the boys headed off to their own classes.

*****

“Don’t worry about the Warblers, Kurt. They’re harmless, despite appearances to the contrary.” The headmaster said.

“I’m sure it was just boyish hijinks.” Kurt murmured acidly, his annoyance overshadowing his fear for once. Apparently, vampire administrators were just as clueless as their human counterparts. 

“Exactly.” Headmaster Schaffer said smiling. “Now, there are some additional requirements for your enrollment here.” Headmaster Schaffer said.

“Such as?” Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Due to the situation that you are coming from, we are requiring you to attend counseling sessions with the school psychiatrist.”

“What?” Kurt was outraged that they wanted him to see a shrink. Karofsky was still ruining his life. “Is my father aware of this?”

“Yes, he is. He felt, as do we, that this will be very beneficial to you and help you to move through what happened. You are required to meet with him twice a week and then when he feels that you are in a better mindset, the sessions will move to once a week and then on from there until our psychiatrist feels that you are ready to be on your own. Dr. Coles is here to help you and we want you to succeed here, Kurt, and to overcome this horrible incident you’ve been forced to suffer through.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell us this before?” Kurt asked.

“Your father was informed and thought you would react better to hearing the news from us.”

“Hmm. You mean he didn’t want to have to deal with the fit he knew I’d throw,” Kurt muttered under his breath, something the headmaster politely ignored.

“Now…we tried to match up your schedule as best we could to what you had at McKinley, but there are a few issues and we have a few options for you to choose.” The dark eyed vampire smiled, trying to put Kurt at ease. The Warblers hadn’t helped and as much as he’d tried to be there to meet Kurt, it just hadn’t worked out that way.

Kurt sighed as he looked at the options Headmaster Schaffer gave him. He frowned as he realized that none met his approval because they were all vampire based classes. He decided the safest option would probably be Musical Theory with an emphasis on vampire composers. Kurt supposed he would just have to deal.

“I will accompany you to your first class, Kurt.” Headmaster Schaffer said. “I want you to feel completely comfortable and safe here. No one is going to bother you because you’re human. If anyone tries, please come directly to me and I will handle any problems.”

“Apparently you forgot to tell the greeting committee that,” Kurt muttered as he followed the headmaster down the hall. Headmaster Schaffer fought down a smirk. The boy had spunk; even after all he’d been through. He’d certainly make things more interesting here.

The man pushed open the door to a classroom and everyone stopped and stared. Kurt took an involuntary step back only stopping when he collided with the cold rock solid chest of Headmaster Schaffer.

“Calm down, Mr. Hummel. Your heart is fluttering like a caged bird,” He murmured. Kurt’s eyes widened.

“H-how do you know that?” He stuttered. Headmaster Schaffer smiled somewhat depreciatingly.

“I’m a vampire. Human heartbeats are rather important to us,” The man offered another tentative smile, hoping he hadn’t upset the boy with his comment. He was being careful with Kurt, afraid that he might say something and send the student running from the school. From what he understood of the situation, Kurt was a very special case and the council had taken a personal interest in him. He would do his very best to make Kurt feel safe at Dalton, more so now that he had met the young man and genuinely liked him.

“Oh.” Kurt was shocked. None of his other vampire friends had ever told him that.

“I don’t want you to worry about a thing. Everyone will be polite and respectful while you are here.” Headmaster Schaffer answered calmly and gave the other students a measured look. The other boys had the good sense to look away or nod in response. “Now, I will leave you to get adjusted and have a good day Kurt.”

“Thank you.” Kurt barely spoke the words aloud, feeling the stares of the vampires boring into him.

“Welcome to Dalton, Mr. Hummel. I am Professor Daniels. Just take a seat anywhere you’d like and we’ll get started with class. Today, we are just beginning our unit on Ancient Civilizations.”

“Yes, sir.” Kurt replied, skittering around desks to take the empty one near the wall. He grabbed his textbook out of his bag, opened his notebook, and was ready to take notes. 

Kurt couldn’t help but be worried as he walked down the hall to his next class. The other vampires stopped and stared at him, making him feel uncomfortable. He knew they couldn’t be happy he was attending school there, but it wasn’t like his father gave him a choice.

Lunch time was a very interesting experience since the school did not have a cafeteria. The students were simply given an hour free period to spend as they wanted before afternoon classes began. Kurt had packed his lunch because he had been anticipating this.

“What are you eating?” A boy asked, turning his nose up in disgust as Kurt dug into his salad.

“It’s food. We humans have to eat. Otherwise, vampires like you would go hungry.” Kurt smarted off, knowing it wasn’t the smartest thing to do.

“Humph.” The boy turned back to his friends, effectively leaving Kurt alone for the rest of the hour. 

 

*****

Kurt knocked hesitantly on the classroom door. He’d received a note in his last hour that his musical theory professor, whom he had yet to meet, wanted to see him during his free period. He gasped and took a step back when the man opened the door. He knew he must’ve been gaping like an idiot, but the vampire bore a startling resemblance to his step-brother and he was more than a little shocked by it.

“Mr. Hummel? Is everything ok?” the vampire, Dr. Lance, asked looking concerned.

“Y-yes… fine you just surprised me. I received a message that you wanted to see me?”

“I did. Please come in and have a seat. So, why are you taking Musical Theory?” Dr. Lance asked curiously once they were both seated. “I looked up your records from McKinley and you definitely shouldn’t be in a class that is too easy for you.”

“I picked this one because it seemed like the safest option.” Kurt honestly answered.

Dr. Lance chuckled knowingly. “Kurt, I want to make sure you are challenged in my courses and this is not going to be challenging for you. I don’t feel like you would be learning anything and I wouldn’t be doing my job if I allowed you to do that.”

“So, what course are you going to put me in?” Kurt asked, worried.

“Hey, don’t look so worried. It’s more of an afterschool activity. I would like you to join the Warblers.” Dr. Lance thought it was the best option for the young man in front of him and it would also do him some good on other fronts as well.

“What are the Warblers?” Kurt asked.

“They are our school’s Glee Club.” Dr. Lance laughed. “They are a nationally ranked show choir.”

“Do I need to talk to the teacher in charge to see if I would be allowed to participate?” Kurt asked.

“It’s a governing council of students that are in charge of the Warblers.”

“Then I know I won’t get in.” Kurt shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

“Why do you say that?” Dr. Lance asked, raising an eyebrow at how Kurt would assume that he wouldn’t get in. He’d seen video of the young man singing and he would bring some life into Dalton’s Show Choir.

“Because I’m a human and while no one has been calling me names…the looks are more than enough to know that I’m not really welcome here.” Kurt answered. “I wish I could have gotten my GED and left town.”

“Kurt, Headmaster Schaffer gave everyone a heads up on why you were invited to attend Dalton. No one thinks badly of you because you’re human or because of what occurred at your old school. It’s a lot to take in for our students. Just give it some time before you decide that you don’t want to be here.”

“Yes, sir.” Kurt quietly replied. There was no way his father would let him drop out of a fine academic institution, even if it was full of vampires. His dad had been all for Dalton.

“Kurt, I know this has to be difficult for you, I still remember when I first started interacting with vampires. It can be very intimidating and sometimes frightening, but the vampire culture is an ancient and honorable one who values life in all of its forms,” the professor said.

“When you first started interacting with vampires? You’re turned?” Kurt asked. The professor nodded.

“I met my mate in college. It was my first real interaction with a vampire. He was very patient in helping me learn about his people and I eventually decided to be turned.

“I can’t imagine ever wanting to go through that,” Kurt murmured. Dr. Lance smiled, his pointed teeth showing.

“You’d be amazed what you’ll do for love Kurt, although the first few months were difficult to say the least. Enough about me. Now, instead of theory class, I am going to put you in a Study Hall until you decide about the Warblers. If you decide that it’s not what you want, we can put together an independent study for course credit.”

“Yes sir. Thank you for everything.” Kurt said offering up a small smile.

*****

Kurt shifted his bag on his shoulder before pushing open the heavy front doors and heading for the parking lot. At least he’d made it through the first day and was still alive. He was not actually expecting the morning greeters to still be there. He groaned internally, studiously ignoring them as he continued walking, his heart racing nervously.

“Hey, new kid.”

“What do you want?” Kurt coldly asked, but continued walking, not sparing them a glance. “I have places to be.”

“We just want to talk to you.”

“Well, I don’t wish to talk to you.” Kurt was skeptical of anything a vampire had to say to him, especially after the Karofsky incident.

“Hey, stop for a minute.” The blond haired vampire caught Kurt’s arm to make him stop. Kurt spun around, brandishing a knife from almost out of nowhere.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Kurt shouted, keeping the knife steady in front of him. “Don’t you ever touch me again or I will go for the jugular.”

“Great.” A dark haired boy said. “Not only did they let in a human, they let in a clearly unstable one. As if we didn’t already have enough problems.”

“Shut up. He’s just scared,” A third member of the group said, sending his friend a glare. A short, curly haired boy stepped in front of the others. Despite his relatively small stature, he almost radiated a calm authority that even a panicked Kurt noticed.

“Kurt, no one is going to hurt you. I think you should put the knife away. I don’t want to have to take it, but I can’t let you threaten people.”

“You’ll have to pry it from my cold dead fingers. Now leave me alone.” Kurt growled. The vampire sighed looking intently at Kurt who realized suddenly that his grip on the knife was getting weaker and then the knife fell to the sidewalk with a loud clatter. He dove for the knife, but one of the vampires grabbed it first. Kurt stared at the vampires before taking slow, measured steps backwards, his eyes wide with panic and his breathing significantly faster than it should have been. If he could just get to his car and inside it, he would be safe. “What did you just do to me?” Kurt hissed continuing to back slowly away.

“Kurt, calm down. We don’t mean any harm,” the curly haired boy said in the kind of voice one might use to sooth a skittish animal. “We haven’t been introduced, but I’m Blaine Anderson. I’m in all your classes as well as a lead member of the Warblers. We don’t want to hurt you. We just want to talk to you.”

“The last vampire who said that to me did more than talk as I’m sure you all know.” Kurt figured everyone had heard the news about the incident.

“We do all know. The Ohio Vampire Community is rather knowledgeable and close knit.” Blaine admitted with a wry smile.

“Isn’t that wonderful for you then?” Kurt snapped, grateful when he felt the car behind him. Ah, escape. “I am going home where I know that I am safe from people like you.”

Blaine watched Kurt pull away in a speeding hurry and shook his head in disbelief.

“This might be tougher than even I expected.” Wes answered.

“Really?” Nick snorted. 

“Oh, I don’t know. I can think of a few ways to get him to come around,” Jeff grinned widely, showing off his fangs.

“Quit being a pervert, dude.” Blaine glared, smacking Jeff upside the head. “He’s special and we need to restore his faith in our kind.”

“Or in someone like you?” Nick pointed out. “It might be a long time before he trusts us enough to be friends Blaine, let alone anything more.”

“I know, Nick, but Kurt is clearly unique, especially if everything Tina has told us is true. We need him to find his faith and trust in everyone and everything again. It’s our duty to help him,” Blaine confidently answered.

“That sounds all well and good, but this human apparently doesn’t want anything to do with our kind, boys.” Nick reminded all of them. “How do you propose to save him exactly? You can’t force friendship on someone, Blaine, and that stunt you just pulled with the knife certainly didn’t help your case that we’re harmless.”

“Did you want me to let him stab someone? And I don’t intend to force my friendship on him, but we didn’t give up on you, Nick, and we aren’t giving up on him either,” Blaine answered still watching the frightened boy drive frantically away.

******

“Why do you keep bothering me?” Kurt asked as he was trailed down the hall by the Warblers. They’d taken to greeting him every morning at the front doors, regardless of the fact that it made Kurt uncomfortable.

“Most of us have never gotten to interact so closely with a human.” Nick said, giving Kurt a measured look.

“You mean other than sucking them dry?” Kurt retorted snippily.

“You know we don’t do that here. We have humans who choose to donate blood to the Dalton Blood Bank of their own free will. No one is hunted down like an animal in the streets. In fact, hunting is very, very rare in the Vampire community anymore. We just don’t need to do it now that society is aware of us and our issues.” Blaine patiently explained. “Most of the people in Westerville and other communities have been very welcoming and give regular donations of blood since we did at one time cure the plague that was killing them off.”

“Pardon me if I don’t believe a word you just said. After all, I’ve experienced first-hand that hunting does still occur. I have the scars to prove it.” Kurt couldn’t help the words that flowed from his mouth. He hadn’t been able to get out his feelings with his father, as much as he had wanted to. With these boys, he just couldn’t seem to keep them in. None of his vampire friends at McKinley had understood why he’d suddenly cut them off, but it was because of this. He couldn’t stop his anger and fear towards the actions of one vampire from spilling over onto others and he knew his friends hadn’t deserved that. He wished he could just forget the attack…forget that vampires even existed, but everyone was determined to not let that happen. As if to confirm his thoughts, one of the Warblers spoke.

“We all have scars in one form or another Kurt,” Nick said quietly, smiling up at Jeff who put a protective hand on his shoulder and nodded his agreement.

“We really are just curious about you, Kurt, and we want to get to know you.” Jeff added.

Kurt wasn’t buying their sudden friendliness. He remembered how they’d greeted him on his first day at Dalton. “Yeah, right. You’re just trying to set me up until I feel comfortable with you guys and then bam; I’m your personal blood whore or your sick entertainment.”

“Kurt, we would never…” Blaine was cut off from answering by a livid Kurt.

“Save it. I don’t want to be friends with any of you. I’m just trying to get through the year.” Kurt stormed off in a huff that would make Rachel Berry proud.

The Warblers all watched Kurt leave, wearing the same stunned expressions. They just didn’t know what else they could do to make Kurt see they just wanted to be his friend; the boy obviously needed some friends. 

“Well, that went well.” Jeff chimed in, earning himself a smack on the head from Blaine.

“We just have to keep trying.” Wes said. “After all, he has a good reason not to trust us or any vampire.”

“Kurt’s not even giving us a chance. It’s not like we were the ones that attacked him at McKinley.” Trent complained.

“I wonder, has anyone ever explained to Kurt about Karofsky?” Blaine asked, looking thoughtful. “I mean, there are major differences between us and someone as out of control as Karofsky. I’m pretty sure that Kurt didn’t really follow the Vampire Community’s publicity campaign. I think he was probably recovering in the hospital when it was going on, and I would be shocked if he looked anything up on the internet afterwards.”

“I don’t know. Should I go hunt him down and ask him?” Jeff laughed at his own joke.

“You’re not funny, Jeff.” Wes glared at the other warbler. “We have to be the ones to show Kurt that born and mature turned vampires are much more friendly and compassionate and in control of their needs. I think we just have to give Kurt space and time and show him who we really are.”

“Does this mean I can’t sharpen my fangs in class with him?” Jeff asked.

“Ha ha. Very funny. You know we don’t need to do that and quit being such an ass.” Wes ordered.

“We just be ourselves and keep trying.” Blaine answered, determined to get through to Kurt somehow and some way.


	3. Chapter Three

“The phrase patience is a virtue is one that Vampires, as a race, have taken to heart. With a nearly infinite life span, they have been known to wait years to achieve their goals and seldom allow anything to stand in their way, especially if what they desire is of significant importance.”

-an excerpt from “The Vampire: Mythos and Truth” by Dr. Marvin J. Coles, PhD

 

In the months since he had started attending Dalton, Kurt had been greeted daily at the doors by the same group of boys. 

As hard as he had tried to resist their charms, he found himself weakening. The group of four Warblers had taken a decidedly passive aggressive approach to becoming his friend. They would essentially follow him around chatting amongst themselves and doing their best to draw him into their conversation. He had done his best to mostly ignore them; something which wasn’t exactly easy with Jeff’s constant flirting. 

Although the blonde’s behavior bothered him less once Kurt realized that it was mostly a cover for the fact that he was hopelessly in love with the gentle, slightly bookish Nick, the Warbler whom Kurt had come closest to what might be called friendship with. Honestly, he had sort of gotten used to Wesley’s bossiness, Jeff’s hyper flirtatiousness, and Nick’s quiet, yet biting sense of humor. It was Blaine who set him most on edge because it was him whom Kurt had the most difficult time resisting.

The young vampire was nothing short of gorgeous. His hazel eyes set his pulse racing and his smile…then there was the fact that he was unfailingly polite, instinctively protective, and so damn dapper that Kurt wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss him or smack him. 

As a silent observer to the Warblers’ conversations, he had quickly learned that they had a lot in common. They liked the same music, the same books, and the same movies. If he wasn’t a vampire…if Kurt had never been attacked…but he had and Blaine was…so Kurt continued to resist their advances and fight to keep the walls he had built around himself, but it was becoming harder every day.

“Really? Again? Are you people stupid or just annoyingly persistent?” Kurt snapped, not in the mood for vampire drama this morning. His weekend had been tiring because Finn had pestered him insistently about a possible return to McKinley. It had taken both Burt and Carole to keep the peace and it hadn’t been easy. Oddly, he had seen Dalton as an escape for a change.

“I’m going to go with ‘C’, charmingly stubborn. Actually, though, I just wanted to see if you wanted to work together on Professor Christian’s project.” Blaine said trying to be as friendly and non-threatening as possible. He knew he needed to approach this carefully. “I mean, it’s a lot of work if you were planning on doing it yourself.”

“I think I will be fine on my own, Blaine.” Kurt answered. Besides, he was used to working by himself as he had at McKinley, although he had to admit, it was nice to be asked to be someone’s partner, even if it was a vampire doing the asking.

“Please Kurt,” Blaine asked with a downturned look. “I really don’t want to do this all by myself.” 

Kurt bit his lip in a way that curled Blaine’s toes and forced him to exert every ounce of his self-control. The boy was going to be the death of him.

“I…I’ll think about it I guess,” Kurt said hesitantly before slamming his locker door and scurrying off.

Blaine let a small smile crawl onto his face as the other boy walked away. Kurt had finally used his name when speaking to him and he would swear he had almost smiled when Blaine had joked about being charming. Best of all, he’d said he would think about working with him. It was about time. He was sure he was getting somewhere with Kurt and that made him happy in so many ways.

******

Kurt was still wondering what the hell he’d been thinking when he told Blaine that he would think about working with him when he stepped out the doors at Dalton only to be met with a wall of snow that was swirling almost as much as his confused thoughts. When he’d arrived that morning for class, it had been lightly flurrying and the weatherman had only predicted light snow showers with no significant accumulation. Apparently the weatherman in Lima was an idiot because he was in the middle of a blizzard. There was already a foot of snow on the ground and it didn’t show signs of stopping anytime soon. 

Cursing quietly under his breath, he stepped back into the building, already dialing the number to the shop. He was sure that his father was there if the weather was just as bad in Lima. There would be a lot of accidents and tows in this weather.

“Kurt?” Burt’s harried voice came on the line.

“Hey dad.” Kurt replied, his eyes looking out the window at the heavy snow.

Burt was concerned since the weather was just purely awful. “I was getting worried about you. The weather is horrible here and the TV says we’re really going to get hit. Where are you at?” Burt asked.

“I’m just getting ready to leave Dalton now once I dig the car out of the snow.” Kurt sighed, knowing how much work that was going to be in this weather. At least he’d had the sense to wear his cute little boots today and had worn his warmest coat.

“No, you’re staying right there until the storm is over. I don’t want you out in this bud,” Burt firmly ordered. Kurt was a good driver, but he wasn’t willing to risk Kurt’s safety on a chance.

“Daddy, I want to come home.” Kurt whined. He didn’t want to stay at Dalton any longer than he was required. He may be getting slightly more comfortable around the boys here, but that didn’t mean he was willing to spend the night here.

“I know you do kid, but you try and drive in this and you’ll end up in the ditch, even with the Navigator. I want you to stay there until the storm is cleared up. If I know you, you have plenty of supplies in the car to last a couple of days.”

“Dad…”

“Kurt, don’t get out on the roads. I mean it. You try to drive home in this and your credit card will disappear. Do you understand me?” Burt wasn’t above using threats if it meant his little boy was safe.

“Fine,” Kurt snapped. “I can sleep in the car tonight.” He was already on edge and desperate to get away from the confusing feelings these Dalton boys were causing him. A fight with his father was the last thing he needed.

“Kurt that is a stupid idea. I know you’re not exactly comfortable yet, but you’re going to be safer inside than outside tonight.” Burt sighed wishing that his son could get past this, but knowing that pushing Kurt wouldn’t get them anywhere.

“I’m trying but it’s not as easy as everyone seems to think it is,” Kurt retorted. His father would never understand the fear he felt in his heart and mind. He knew his father was trying, but he really couldn’t sympathize, something which Kurt recognized bothered his dad tremendously.

“I know bud, but still, I want you to stay put inside the building. It’s supposed to drop into the below zero wind chills tonight.” Burt gave him specific instructions because he knew his son would do anything to avoid prolonged contact with any vampires. Kurt had steadfastly refused to even eat at Breadstix or the Lima Bean because they were frequented by vampires.

“I’ll find someplace here to stay.” Kurt said, trying not to feel guilty. His car in the parking lot was still technically at Dalton so he wasn’t lying. 

“You’ll be safe, Kurt. Try not to worry. Love you bud,” Burt reassured him. Kurt bit his lip feeling worse about the half-truth he’d just told.

“Love you too Dad. Bye,” He responded, hanging up the phone. He turned, jumping when he found himself face to face with the boys who had been the plague of his existence since he’d entered this god forsaken school. He sent them an icy glare. 

“I swear I’m going to put bells on you guys. I am so tired of turning around to find you all standing there. Can’t you make noise like normal people?” Kurt snapped.

“Sorry. So I gather from your conversation that you’re staying here tonight?” Blaine asked, smiling. A whole evening to hang out with Kurt was sounding better and better in his head.

“I see you have no problem with listening in on private phone conversations,” Kurt growled. 

“We didn’t mean to, Kurt. We sort of couldn’t help it,” Nick answered. “Your dad is right, though. We do have guest rooms you could use. You could also stay with one of us, but I understand that you probably wouldn’t be comfortable with that.”

“I have no intention of staying here. My father tends to worry about me unnecessarily,” Kurt said, securing his coat more tightly and reaching out to open the door.

The Warblers looked at each other in disbelief when they realized Kurt was planning on going out into the blizzard once more, despite what he’d told his father.

“Kurt, what are you doing?” Blaine was the first one to ask as Kurt adjusted his coat and scarf.

He gave them a scathing look. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I am going out to start my car and scrape snow. I do want to go home tonight since it is Friday.”

The Warblers stared at each other disbelievingly. “You can’t do that. It’s a blizzard out there and you know the roads aren’t safe for you to be driving on.”

“Thank you for stating the obvious. What’s with all the significant looks? Do you all think with one brain?”

“Of course not, that would be werewolves.” Jeff snorted with derision.

“That doesn’t mean that we all don’t agree. You really shouldn’t be going out there in this storm.” Wes asserted his opinion.

“I am going out there and I will be sleeping in my own bed tonight.” Kurt snapped.

He fought down the urge to give in and obey his father, especially with the worried looks on the faces of the boys surrounding him. He forced himself to remember that despite appearances, these boys were no more trustworthy than any other vampire. His momentary weakness with Blaine earlier was just proof of that. Something about the young vampire got under his skin and he couldn’t seem to stop himself from responding to him. He shook his head, straightening his shoulders. There was no way that any of them would be concerned about his well-being, especially not Blaine. He wouldn’t fall into that trap again. He just needed to get out of the gates and away from this gilded prison.

“Kurt, please just stay here. The rooms are singles and no one will bother you.” Blaine offered. He was terrified at the thought of Kurt going out in these conditions. The frail human would never survive it. “It’s safer than taking your chances in this weather.”

“If I want your help, I’ll ask for it.” Kurt sharply said, refusing to allow the concern in the curly haired Warbler’s beautiful caramel colored eyes to melt his resolve. Blaine was making a dangerous habit of slipping past his guard. “And, for the record, I don’t want your help.”

“Kurt…” Blaine began, trailing off as the front door slammed in his face. Sighing he started to go after him, but was brought up short by a hand on his shoulder.

“Let it go, man. He’ll realize he’s being an idiot and come back. Pushing him right now won’t help,” Nick said, hoping he was right.

 

After an hour of trying to dig his car out of the snow, Kurt gave up. There was no way he could get home tonight if he couldn’t even get his car out of the parking lot. As much as he would like to go back inside the school and huddle in one of those rooms, his pride wouldn’t let him do that. He would just sleep in his car. Surely, it wouldn’t get that cold.

 

*****

 

By seven that night, Blaine was getting seriously worried about Kurt and Nick was feeling incredibly guilty for stopping Blaine from going after him. He knew the stubborn human hadn’t left the grounds because he’d called the security office to see if he had checked out of the gates and told them to inform him if he did. As of yet, they had heard nothing.

“We’ve looked everywhere in the main building and there’s no sign. Are you sure that he’s still here?” Wes asked as he, Jeff, and Nick re-entered the common room. Blaine had sent them out to double check the school just in case, but Blaine knew it was futile. 

“According to gate security, yes. I already knew he wasn’t in the building. I don’t hear his heartbeat. I can always hear him when he’s here.”

“Stalker much, Blaine? Maybe he found one of the outbuildings to crash in.” Jeff suggested. “You know there’s no way he would ask us for any help.”

“That’s not very likely. They all should be locked this time of evening.” Blaine reminded all the gathered Warblers, chewing worriedly on his bottom lip.

“Do you think he would be stupid enough to sleep in his car?” Wes shook his head. “I mean, humans let their pride get in the way a lot.”

“Shit.” Blaine muttered rather uncharacteristically for him. “We’d better go check the grounds and parking lot, just in case. We can’t let him get hurt. We’re responsible for his well-being. We promised our fathers.” Blaine answered, already moving to the heavy doors, followed by most of the Warblers.

The parking lot was rapidly becoming a winter wonderland with all of the piled up and swirling snow. Blaine was momentarily grateful to see Kurt’s black Navigator still in the lot, until he realized it wasn’t running and the heartbeat he could hear was worryingly faint and slow.

“What an idiot human!” Jeff shouted over the wind as they moved toward the snow covered vehicle. “Of course he locked the doors.”

“Not the time, Jeffery. I guess we’ll pay for the damages. I’m sure his father won’t mind.” Blaine said, wrenching the door off its hinges to find a passed out and cold Kurt. Cursing under his breath, he immediately pulled Kurt into his arms. “Give me your jackets.”

Blaine and Wes quickly and efficiently wrapped the blue tinged boy in the offered jackets and Blaine gently, but swiftly, rushed him into the warmth of the Common Room. The others followed quickly behind.

“What do we do?” one of the boys asked, wanting to do something to help Kurt but not sure how. He looked at Blaine who in turn looked at Nick whose father was a doctor.

“Start a fire to get some more heat circulating. Find blankets and see if someone has anything we can feed him to get him warmer on the inside.” Nick suggested. “He needs to get his body temperature up as fast as we can safely do it.”

“You heard him gentlemen. Move!” Blaine ordered.

 

The boys whirled around as fast as they could. Even if Kurt didn’t accept them, they accepted him and liked the human boy. Blaine watched as color finally came back into Kurt’s cheeks and his eyes began to flutter. He heard Kurt’s heartbeat get stronger with each passing moment.

 

Kurt opened his eyes and slowly looked around. He was in the common room and realized that someone had retrieved him from his car and brought him inside.

“Hey.” Blaine said, offering him a tentative smile. “How are you feeling? You gave us quite a scare.”

“Cold.” Kurt said, unable to form any more coherent thoughts. He shivered; slowly sitting up and trying to clear the cobwebs from his brain. His teeth were chattering and he rubbed his arms, trying to get warm. “How’d I g…get h-h- here?”

“We went looking for you when Blaine realized that you hadn’t left campus. We found you half frozen in your car with the doors locked. We might have had to damage it slightly to get you out. We got you inside and have been doing our best to defrost you ever since.” Wes answered, shoving a hot cup of tea at the boy, the only human food to be had. Thank God Trent’s mother was a turned vampire and had retained her human habits somewhat and that she had passed at least this onto her son. “Here…drink it. Your body temperature is still not right.”

“How do you know?” Kurt was mystified by the idea that they could determine his internal body temperature so easily.

“Besides the fact that you’re still a little blue and still shivering? Any of us can tell by how fast your heart is beating and it’s not fast enough yet.” Wes answered studying the frail human in front of him.

“Thank you.” Kurt gratefully took the cup and sipped at the tea. He was happy to find it was exactly how he liked it; warm with a hint of honey and lemon.

Kurt fought to stay awake, terrified of the idea of being so defenseless in a school full of vampires, even though a part of his mind couldn’t help but point out he had been passed out and nearly frozen and they hadn’t done anything to him. He was still cold, but slowly starting to warm up with the heat from the fire place and the blankets and tea. 

Whether from the cold or the stress, he was purely exhausted, however, and he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to keep from closing his eyes. He moved to stand next to the fire in order to warm up more and try to fight off the increasing need to sleep. He could feel Blaine’s eyes on him…watching him with obvious concern. However, all of the other Warblers were keeping a respectful distance from him and he appreciated it. He just wasn’t ready to deal with all of their questions, yet…

He was sure an hour or two had passed, although it was likely much less when Blaine finally broke the heavy silence of the room.

“Are you feeling better?” Blaine politely asked.

“When I get home to my own bed, I will feel better.” Kurt quietly replied.

“I’m sorry that this is so uncomfortable for you, but it’s probably better that you’re here anyway. The radio said that all roads between Westerville and Lima are closed due to hazardous weather conditions. I’m just glad that you were stuck in your car here where we could help you and not out in the middle of nowhere.” Blaine had slowly been inching towards Kurt as he spoke, but still making sure there was plenty of space between them.

“If I knew you wouldn’t try to stop me, I would try to brave the roads anyway.” Kurt admitted. “I don’t want to stay here anymore than you want me to stay here.”

“Kurt, come on…we know how difficult this has to be for you, but we’re not going to hurt you. And we really don’t mind you being here.” Blaine took another careful step toward him, the rest of the Warblers behind him.

“No…no…no…” Kurt slowly backed away from the boys as they came at him. He had no idea that he’d moved across the room until his back hit the wall.

Blaine could feel the fear radiating off of Kurt in waves and if he could feel it, so could the other boys. He shared a quick look with Wes and neither boy could believe Kurt’s reaction to them. They hadn’t seen Kurt this uncomfortable around them since his first days at Dalton. As Blaine took another step forward, Kurt’s eyes widened in panic. His heartbeat and breathing increased rapidly and he began to shake. Blaine frowned in worry. 

Kurt had been fearful and even occasionally hostile with them, like the day with the knife, but this complete panic was nothing they’d ever experienced from him previously and it was something they never hoped to see again. Slowly, Blaine edged toward the blue-eyed boy who had curled himself up into a ball in the corner.

“Please don’t! I’ll do whatever you want.” Kurt pleaded. He resigned himself to whatever fate had in store for him. 

“He’s having a flashback or a panic attack Blaine!” Nick said urgently, coming to stand beside the other Warbler. “You need to back off. Kurt? Kurt can you hear me? You’re safe. You’re not at McKinley. You’re at Dalton. You’re safe and he’s not here.”

Blaine’s heart broke at the emotions coming off the boy in front of him. He knelt in front of him, making his voice as gentle as he could. The fear coming off of Kurt was horrifying and heartbreaking. He gently took his chin in his hand and forced him to look into his eyes. “Kurt, no one is going to hurt you. We just saved you. Why would we want to hurt you?”

“No, you’re lying. Quit trying to trick me.” Kurt was confused that they weren’t all pouncing on him. “Of course you’re going to hurt me. Karofsky did and he’s one of your brothers in arms, so to speak. I know all you want is a human snack and they don’t even have to be willing.” He knew from first-hand experience that vampires could be brutal to get what they wanted.

“We’ve never even met Karofsky. We would never do anything like that, especially not to you, Kurt. I know what he did hurt you in so many ways. I know you’re scared, but you need to understand not all of us are like Karofsky.” Blaine tried to reassure the frightened boy in front of him. “We care about you, Kurt.” 

“That is not true.” Kurt exclaimed. “All vampires want to do is hurt those weaker than them.”

“You’ve been here for months. Has anyone hurt you since you started attending Dalton?” Blaine asked.

“It’s a trap. You’re just luring me in with a false sense of security, then you’re going to spring,” Kurt said, his voice hysterical.

“Kurt, I’ve been in your position. Do you honestly think I would hurt you? That Wes or Jeff or Blaine would?” Nick asked softly. Kurt’s eyes seemed to clear slightly. He frowned. 

“Blaine?”

“That’s right, Kurt. It’s Blaine,” Blaine said edging forward slightly. Kurt immediately drew back. “I’m not going to hurt you, Kurt.”

“You might,” Kurt insisted.

“I never have, have I? And I never will… and what about your other friends like Tina, Mike, and Puck?” Blaine reminded the still frightened human. “Tina told me the two of you had been friends since kindergarten. Did she ever do anything to hurt you? Did any of the rest of your friends?”

“No.” Kurt slowly answered, relaxing even more and seeming to come back to himself. “If anything, they were my biggest defenders when others were harassing me, but even they couldn’t be everywhere with me.”

“Then you know that we’re not all bad. Please don’t let one person destroy your life and friendships like this. If you do, he wins and I know you don’t want that.” Blaine said. “I know you’re stronger than that.”

“Maybe I need help. Maybe I am not that strong.” Kurt said. “I am trying to get over this, but it’s not easy. You can’t imagine how much my life has been changed because of one person in one moment of time. I never used to be afraid of anything and now, it seems like fear is all I know. I’m so tired of being afraid.”

“Then don’t be. Courage, Kurt…it’s there inside you.” Blaine said earnestly. “I can hear it with every beat of your heart. You are brave enough to overcome this. You are brave enough to let someone help you…let us help you.”

Kurt raised his eyes, and as blue met hazel, he felt something within him shift as he came to the sudden and astounding realization that this group of vampires had done more to be his friends than any of the humans he had ever known. He knew, he had in fact known for quite some time, that he needed to talk about what had happened to him if he was ever going to get past the attack that changed his life. It was just too hard… the memories too terrifying, but as he took in Blaine’s hopeful and almost pleading expression, he could hear the boy’s words echo in his head…courage. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he hesitantly began to speak.

“I… no one knows. I have never told anyone everything that he did to me. I couldn’t. As long as I didn’t talk about it, I could pretend it wasn’t real. Besides, I didn’t think it would matter or that anyone would believe me anyway. My own family members didn’t; even now, even after seeing what he did to me in his last attack.”

“Last attack?” Wesley said. “He did this more than once?” Kurt smiled sadly, pausing for a moment as his eyes became distant as if seeing into the past. 

“I was 13 when he transferred into my middle school. He became popular almost immediately. He was strong, handsome, and athletic. I think I even had a bit of crush on him, but then…” Kurt’s voice trailed off and he had to clear his throat before continuing. “At first, he just stuck to harassment and torment. Not like it was anything new for someone like me, but it got worse, as most things usually do. I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t think it would matter.”

“Years… he tortured you for years, didn’t he?” Blaine asked. As much as he hated it, he knew that there were some who ascribed to a more barbaric time for their race. He’d seen the results of their cruelty before. He knew that they hunted… ruthlessly. If they had prey in mind, they would wait years for an opportunity. From what he’d seen and heard, Karofsky was most definitely the kind to become a ruthless hunter, despite all of the laws which forbade it. Vampires could be patient when they wanted something important. 

“Sometimes it seems like forever” Kurt admitted, unable to believe he was talking about Karofsky’s mission to make his human life a living hell with other vampires. A part of his mind was screaming at him that all vampires stuck together and that these boys were going to hurt him like Karofsky. The other vampires at McKinley who hadn’t been his friends had been completely supportive of Karofsky, after all. Blaine’s voice in his head urging him to have courage helped him to fight. “Gradually, he started getting physical with locker checks, unwanted touching, and leering looks. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me for his next meal or in his bed. It was disgusting actually.”  
Blaine growled low in his throat, wanting to tear Karofsky into little pieces. He was only restrained by the knowledge that it would probably scare Kurt more if he allowed his rage to show and chasing Kurt away was the last thing he wanted to do.

“What happened in the attack that landed you in the hospital?” Wes asked.

“I refused to be scared of him and it pissed him off. I mean, I had friends that were vampires. I was in glee club with vampires.” Kurt told them. “I didn’t necessarily think they were all bad because I had friends and they were respectful.”

“And Karofsky didn’t like that?” Jeff surmised. His interactions with humans had been limited, but Kurt was very intriguing to him. Unfortunately, he had dealt with vampires like Karofsky before and knew they thrived on fear and pain.

Kurt laughed without joy. “No. He was furious. He cornered me at school. When I tried to get away from him, he grabbed me, threw me into a locker.” Kurt unconsciously rubbed his side. “Then he pushed and shoved me around and he just kept hitting me. I tried to stop him…to fight him off…but I just…I was in so much pain and so scared. Apparently no one told him that humans break very easily.”

“Oh my god.” Jeff didn’t know what else to say. He could have never imagined something like this.

“He had me pinned to the floor…he was ripping at my clothes,” Kurt said his voice strained almost beyond recognition.

“He… he didn’t…” Nick rasped out, looking almost as shaken as Kurt was.

“No…although I think that was what he wanted, but I managed to fight him off, although I have no idea how. Suddenly Puck was there pulling him off and beating the holy hell out of him. They suspended Puck for two weeks for it. Karofsky didn’t even get that long. I ended up with a sprained collar bone, several broken ribs, a broken wrist, a concussion, and more bruises and scrapes than I could count. It wasn’t the physical injuries that did the most damage, though. It was the mental and emotional ones that I am still trying to heal from. I was scared of everything. I could barely stand to be in the same room as my family without flinching. I made the decision not to go back to McKinley because I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I cut my friends off because I couldn’t be around any vampires. By the time the offer for Dalton came, I had completely cut myself off from everyone and barely left my room.” Kurt admitted.

“I can’t imagine the strength it must have taken for you to come here, knowing you would be surrounded by vampires all day.” Wes was in awe of Kurt’s amazing resilience.

“Where was his creator when all this was happening?” Nick asked, trying to remain calm for Kurt’s sake. The frightened teenager didn’t need a room full of angry vampires to deal with right now. “Turned vampires need to be guided by their creators to get through the initial problems and to learn to cope with their thirst.”

“When the Vampire authorities were trying to explain away the attack, they said he’d been abandoned, but I didn’t know if it was the truth or another lie so the vampire community could save face.” Kurt answered. He had refused to listen to the explanations of Karofsky’s behavior because they had just felt like lies. “I don’t feel safe trusting anyone other my father. You guys seem so nice, but everyone thought Karofsky was nice too. People in Lima still think he did nothing wrong and praised him for dealing with the gay kid.”

“Kurt, you have to believe that we don’t want to hurt you. We just want to be your friends and get to know you.” Blaine could only hope that in time Kurt would see them as the friends they wanted to be to him. “We know that it won’t be easy or quick, but you can trust us and Dalton. I’m really sorry for what happened to you. I wish there was something more I could do to help you.”

“Thank you. I just need to get it straight in my head that it isn’t all vampires, but I don’t know when or if I’ll ever be able to trust again.” Kurt softly replied. “Going to school here is hard enough.”

“Just let us have the chance to change your mind about vampires. That’s all we’re asking for.” Wes just wanted a chance to show Kurt they wouldn’t hurt him if he let them in. 

“God it’s no wonder you hate us,” Blaine murmured sadly. Kurt shook his head.

“I don’t hate you. You’ve all been so nice, even though I have been fairly horrible. I just…I’m afraid to trust you….to trust anyone,” Kurt sadly said because Karofsky was still exerting control over his life and it sucked.

“That’s the hardest part,” Nick responded. “Learning to trust again.”

“How do you know?” Kurt couldn’t stop the slightly snippy tone from escaping his mouth. Nick didn’t take offense, however.

“I told you once before that we all have our own scars, Kurt. Mine aren’t too different from yours. You just have to give people a chance, Kurt,” he answered. “Let us show you how we want it to be. How the world should be for everyone in it…humans and vampires.”

“I’ll try. It’s all I can promise for right now.” Kurt yawned, unbelievingly tired from just talking. 

“That’s more than most people who’ve been through what you have would do.” Blaine gently said. “Why don’t we get you tucked in for the night? Most of the guest rooms are clean and have their own bathroom for privacy.”

“Thanks for all of this.” Kurt waved a hand around.

“No thanks are required, Kurt.” Blaine gently guided the boy down the hall to the guest suites and made sure everything was okay before he left Kurt to his own devices and made his way back to the Common Room. There was no way he would let anyone else harm the strangely fascinating boy. 

Kurt locked the door and, surprisingly, didn’t feel the need to block it with furniture, also. Sliding beneath the soft sheets of the bed, Kurt quickly fell into a deep, shockingly dreamless sleep.

 

****

Blaine sighed heavily as he returned to the room because he could sense the anger and frustration coming from quite a few Warblers. It was to be expected after everything Kurt had revealed to them. It was a difficult situation for any of them to have to deal with, but nothing compared to what Kurt had been through.

“Would either of you care to explain why Karofsky was not punished more severely? Your fathers are head of the council. Surely they don’t condone this?” Nick asked, so furious that he could barely see straight. “I mean, he attacked a human and tortured him for years. He was nearly raped! I thought this is why we had a Council to prevent things like this from happening.”

“Nick, calm down. I know this is particularly difficult for you, but the Council can’t be everywhere and can only act on what they know.” Wes answered, carefully choosing his words.

“Kurt himself said they didn’t know everything, so it’s not the Council’s fault.” Blaine added. 

“There should have been a full investigation.” Nick hissed.

“Maybe, but the Council had no idea that this was anything other than an isolated incident. Why would they launch a full scale investigation?” Wes pointed out.

“So, what…did they just slap his hand and tell him he had been a bad boy?” Nick retorted.

Wes and Blaine exchanged a look. 

“Essentially that is what they did.” Blaine admitted. “The family was fined because they should have reported that their creator abandoned them to the council. They were assigned a mentor to help them. I know it’s not enough, but the fine was several thousand dollars so they didn’t get off that easy.” 

“Oh, a fine! I’m sure that makes all of Kurt’s pain and suffering so much better.” Nick snapped. “A fine isn’t going to detour a rogue from acting out. We all know that.”

“He’s right. The fine is a joke.” Jeff pointed out. “And it’s great that they assigned him a mentor, but I doubt they’ll be able to help him.”

“You’re right, Jeff. I know they felt they had to give him a chance to be fixed, but let’s face it…he’s gone so long without a guiding influence that it just may not be possible for him to be controlled or learn how to control himself.” Blaine said grimly. “Unfortunately, it’s just a matter of time. Karofsky will act out again.”

“And Kurt is their bait?” Nick demanded. “How the hell could they possibly think that was acceptable? How could you?”

“We don’t and neither do they. That’s at least partially why Kurt was offered the spot here at Dalton, even if our fathers would never admit it. The Council knew he’d be safe with us. They asked us to watch over him.” Wes answered. ‘There is no way Karofsky would even get two steps inside the gates before he would be dealt with firmly.”

“That still doesn’t make it right, you know.” Nick said. “How are we ever going to gain Kurt’s trust when we represent everything he’s afraid of?”

“He seems to be doing better with us now, other than that one moment.” Blaine thoughtfully added.

“But he hasn’t really seen us, has he? We’ve been so careful to not show our vampire sides around him, but maybe that’s why he’s so fearful. He feels he can’t trust us because we’re not being ourselves. Maybe we just need to let him see us how we really are.” Wes said. 

“That is just going to scare him off.” Blaine argued. “Kurt is too fragile to deal with our eccentricities.”

“Blaine, keeping ourselves hidden from Kurt is not going to build trust with him. He needs to understand not just our eccentricities, as you put it, but our sense of honor and our respect for life. Kurt needs to be shown how abhorrent we see what Karofsky did to him.” Nick asserted. “We are vampires and we can’t hide ourselves from Kurt forever. Hiding who we are will break any trust he has just as surely as lying to him would.”

“If he gets used to our ways, he will be better equipped to deal with the other vampires out there.” Wes replied. “He’s stronger than you know, Blaine. Just look at what he put up with for years. I mean, he fought off an angry, excited vampire on his own with a broken wrist and a sprained collar bone and busted ribs.”

Jeff perked up, a wide smile on his face and his fangs peeking out. “So, does that mean I can sharpen my fangs in class again?”

“No! Bad vampire!” Nick shook his head, chuckling slightly, which was exactly what Jeff had hoped would happen. “I think Wes is right, Blaine. If Kurt gets to know the real us, it might help smooth the way for him to finally accept us in all our glory, especially if you feel as strongly for him as I think you do. You can’t have a relationship with him if you never let him know the real you. Trust me Blaine. It will end badly for both of you that way.”

“My feelings are not the subject here Nick,” Blaine said. “We will try it your way, but if Kurt shows any sign of being uncomfortable, we leave it alone. We’re just starting to make progress with him. I don’t want him to slip back.”

“Then it’s agreed. We will no longer hide our vampire sides and we will try to educate Kurt about our society and ourselves.” Wes stated firmly. “It will help him understand vampires like no human ever has.”

“I’d like to educate him, all right.” Jeff couldn’t resist adding, laughing manically, as Blaine launched himself across the room, tackling him to the ground.

 

****

Kurt was awoken from his deep slumber by a gentle knock on the door. Once he recovered from the momentary disorientation which came from waking up in unfamiliar surroundings, he stumbled to the door opening it to find a disturbingly awake and handsome looking Blaine

“Blaine, what are you doing here?” he sleepily asked, yawning in a way that Blaine couldn’t help but think was completely adorable.

“I wanted to invite you to breakfast with the Warblers this morning.”

“Uh…” Kurt wasn’t quite sure how to respond to an invitation to breakfast from vampires.

“We don’t have a whole lot of human food around here, but the roads have been reopened and a couple of us have been out to grab muffins and coffee for you.” Blaine said.

“Oh, if the roads are reopened, I probably should get home to Lima. I know my father will be worried about me.” Kurt said.

“It’s okay. We understand that you’re anxious to get home to see your family.” Blaine said, but Kurt couldn’t help but notice the disappointment on the other boy’s face as he started to turn away.

Biting his lip, Kurt took a deep breath. “Wait! I suppose it would be rude to not have breakfast after you’ve gone to the trouble to get it for me. Give me a few minutes to get dressed.”

“Really?” Blaine smiled brightly. “I will wait right here for you to escort you to the Common Room, if that’s okay?”

“That would be nice.” Kurt smiled back…the first genuine smile that Blaine had ever seen from the other boy and it took his breath away.

When Kurt exited the room several minutes later Blaine, true to his word was waiting for him. The Warbler gallantly offered his arm for Kurt.

“Your breakfast awaits good sir,” he said hoping Kurt didn’t reject him. Hesitantly, Kurt placed his hand lightly on Blaine’s arm and was immediately dazzled by the beaming smile which burst on the other boy’s face.

 

Common Room…

“We weren’t sure what you’d like,” Blaine said. “So we got you a variety of different flavors.” Kurt couldn’t help the giggle that escaped his lips as Blaine indicated the pile of food on the table. The boys gathered in the common room eagerly watching and looking much more like a passel of puppies than a coven of lethal bloodsucking vampires.

“Thank you, but this is more than I could eat in a month,” Kurt pointed out.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have some as well,” Wes said casually. “We don’t need human food to survive, but most of us do eat occasionally, even if it’s just socially,” he said picking up a muffin and taking a bite.

“Dibs on a chocolate chip,” Jeff called, jumping over the couch and scooping one of the plates. This seemed to be the key for the rest of the boys to descend on the tray.

“What flavor do you want? I’ll go get it for you before they’re gone,” Blaine said quietly to Kurt who was watching the display in front of him with wide eyes. He had never seen the Warblers be so open and free in front of him before. They were always so reserved, and now they were joking and laughing with each and even occasionally playfully fighting over a muffin. 

“I… banana nut… if there are any left… please,” Kurt said amazed as Blaine moved through the crowd, grabbed a muffin, his coffee, and napkin, and returned before Kurt could even register he’d left.

“I hope the coffee is right,” Blaine said. Kurt took a tentative sip.

“It’s perfect. How did you know what I drink?” He asked. 

“I…umm…the smell. You always come in smelling like it in the morning,” Blaine admitted. 

“Do you often go around smelling people Mr. Anderson?” Kurt said an amused smile playing about his mouth. Blaine looked down bashfully.

“I... we have a very developed sense of smell. I can always tell when you get here in the mornings from the smell of coffee combined with your cologne.”

“So you’re saying I stink?” Kurt asked, unable to stop himself from teasing the boy and rather alarmed that he was doing so. He had promised to try to give the boys a chance, however, and he’d be damned if he would keep hiding himself while doing so.

“No!” Blaine stuttered, his eyes wide with alarm. “I like your scent it’s… amazing. Coffee and chocolate and cologne. I…” 

“Blaine, calm down. I’m teasing. I have been friends with vampires before. I know your senses are pretty highly evolved,” Kurt reassured him.

“Oh,” Blaine said. “Well, in that case, for the record, your scent is one of the best things my evolved senses have ever smelled.” Kurt hastily took a sip of his coffee, blushing.

“Well good morning beautiful,” Jeff purred coming up behind Kurt. “And how is my favorite human this ridiculously snowy morning?”

Kurt turned, rather proud of himself for not jumping at the other vampire’s close proximity.

“I’m fine Jeff, and how are you?” Kurt asked politely.

“I’m fabulous now that you’re here,” he said winking saucily. Kurt rolled his eyes turning to Blaine.

“Does he have an off button?”

“Not that we’ve found unfortunately,” Blaine sighed.

“Oh come now Blainers, you know that you’d be lost without me… heartbroken… positively devastated…” Jeff said dramatically.

“Hmmm… I’d say elated is closer to what I’d be Jeff,” Blaine murmured.

“Don’t listen to him Kurt. He’s just hiding from his emotions. Terribly repressed our Blaine,” Jeff said, putting a companionable arm around Kurt and steering him over to the others as Blaine followed shaking his head at the flirty blonde’s antics.

 

Once breakfast was over, the Warblers insisted on accompanying Kurt to the parking lot to help him dig out his car. It wasn’t until they got there, however, that they remembered the damage which had been done to it.

“Oh my Gaga! Dad is going to kill me!” he exclaimed. The boys exchanged guilty looks.

“It’s all my fault Kurt. I’ll call your Dad and…” Blaine began.

“No!” Kurt interrupted. “Then he’ll know I didn’t listen to him and tried to come home and then sleep in my car.”

“At times like this, I really miss Noah.” Jeff rolled his eyes. “You guys suck at covering shit up. Just take one of our cars and tell your dad the car doors were frozen shut and one of us tried to help you open the door and accidently ripped it off.”

“That might actually work,” Kurt said with narrowed eyes. 

“You heard him, boys. Get busy. He can take my car,” Blaine said, handing over the keys to the Escalade Kurt had seen and admired in the parking lot before. Kurt sighed because this was bound to make waves in Lima if he showed up in that. 

Kurt was certain he could have done it faster himself but the playful shoving and snowball fight that broke out between the Warblers was at least entertaining. It was like watching a daycare classroom full of rowdy children and the most fun Kurt could remember having in a long time. 

When the car was finally free of snow, Kurt couldn’t help but notice that some of the boys looked sad to see him go, even though he would be back bright and early Monday morning.


	4. Chapter Four

“The greatest impact of the Great Reveal upon the modern vampire has been the change in the ways in which they acquire their food, utilizing banks and donors, rather than having the need to hunt. It is this change, which has allowed them to move about freely in society and reveal their true, and to some, surprisingly honorable and gentle natures.”

-an excerpt from “The Modern Vampire: Rules, Roles, and Expectations” by Daisy Belle Hughes

 

Lima…Saturday…

Much to his relief, Burt completely believed Kurt’s explanation of what had happened to his car, of course that could have been because his father was still extremely busy towing cars which had been stuck in the blizzard. Finn had been helping him so Kurt really didn’t get an opportunity to talk to his family until dinner.

“How was it staying at Dalton overnight?” Finn asked with morbid curiosity. “I mean, no one tried to suck your blood, did they?”

“Finn!” Carole admonished, even if she too was extremely curious about what had happened at her stepson’s school. So far, Kurt had resisted all her attempts to draw him into conversation about it, something which was beginning to annoy her greatly. She was his stepmother after all. She deserved to know.

“Not that it’s any of your business, Finn, but everything was fine. No one tried to hurt me. They were actually very nice and surprisingly easy to talk to,” Kurt admitted, picking at his dinner. He had lost his appetite because of Carole and Finn’s repeated questions. He wasn’t ready to discuss his life at Dalton when he wasn’t even sure how he felt about it.

“What did you talk about?” Finn pushed.

“Music” Kurt lied. “Now can we please talk about something else?” He was rapidly losing his temper with the large teen. Finn hadn’t seemed to give a damn what he was talking about with Karofsky all those times he had walked in on Kurt being cornered by the Neanderthal. He hadn’t been there when he was attacked. He hadn’t even visited him in the hospital. So why did he suddenly care now?

“But we’re family. We’re supposed to share things,” Finn insisted. Kurt sent his stepbrother an icy glare, opening his mouth to deliver a scathing retort, but his father was apparently tired of the argument.

“Enough!” Burt shouted. “Kurt doesn’t want to talk about it and we will respect his choices and his privacy.”

“But it’s not fair! He gets to go to the fancy private school and I’m stuck here and he won’t even talk about it!” Finn whined.

“Oh yeah, Finn! Lucky Kurt! He gets to go to the private school! Of course I had to be beaten to a pulp and nearly raped first, but it was a small price to pay for a private school education wasn’t it!” Kurt shrieked, before turning and fleeing to the sanctuary of his room. With a sigh, Burt threw his napkin onto his plate and followed his son.

****

 

“Kurt?” Burt said, opening his son’s bedroom door to find him pacing around the room. “You okay, kiddo?”

“Just fabulous,” Kurt replied, clearly still agitated. “Finn’s an ass.”

“He’s a teenage boy who has had his own way too many times…so yeah he’s an ass, but it’s not like you to fly off the handle like that which makes me think maybe something did go on last night at that school of yours,” Burt said walking in and sitting down on Kurt’s bed. “Do you want to tell me what you talked about with those new friends of yours?” 

“The attack.” Kurt softly replied, his eyes shifting to look at the floor.

“Oh?” Burt was surprised that Kurt would talk about it with other vampires when he barely discussed it with him. It was quite a shock to hear that and Burt hoped it was a step in the right direction for his son.

“They listened and let me talk.” Kurt whispered. “And they explained a few things to me. They said they want to be my friends.”

“Oh? And how do you feel about that?” Burt asked.

“I want to. I really do. Honestly, they’ve been nicer to me than most of the people at McKinley ever were and they get me. They understand me and like me and I just…they’re vampires. Shouldn’t I hate them?” 

“If Karofsky was human, would you hate all humans? Those boys didn’t attack you, Kurt, any more than Puck, Tina, or Mike did. I hate to see you judge a race of people because of something one person did,” Burt replied. “You want my opinion? You give these guys a chance.” Kurt looked down at his hands nodding.

“I’ll try. Thanks Dad,” Kurt replied.

“No problem kid. And if you need to talk about it, I am here for you, day or night. You got it?” 

“I know Dad,” Kurt said rolling his eyes in a sassy gesture Burt had almost given up hope of ever seeing from his son again. He couldn’t help but smile at how much Kurt had improved in his time at Dalton. He had definitely made the right decision for him.

“Love you, Kurt,” he said pulling his son into a tight hug.

“Love you too, Daddy.” Kurt replied feeling for the first time in a very long time that maybe he was going to be ok

 

*****

Burt was sitting at the table, drinking his coffee early Monday morning. He had taken to getting up earlier than usual to see Kurt off to school. It was time for just the two of them as Carole and Finn were still sleeping. He couldn’t help but notice that Kurt seemed to almost be looking forward to school. He was actually singing as he poured his cereal…something Burt hadn’t heard in a long time.

“You seem rather happy for a Monday morning.” Burt pointed out as he watched Kurt pack up his bag for the day.

“I am. I feel like I’m getting a new beginning.” Kurt smiled.

“That’s great, kiddo. I know change is scary for you and this has been especially hard, but it’s nice to see you happy again and if that’s because of those boys at that school of yours, then they’re alright in my books.”

“It’s still awkward, Dad, don’t doubt that, but I think I’m getting better.”

“That’s all I ever wanted, Kurt.” Burt smiled as he hugged his son good-bye for the day, hoping that things would only continue to get better for his son. It was about time Kurt caught a break and had something good happen for him.

“You know the one good thing about this vampire school is there is no need for gym.” Kurt smiled.

“What a wonderful perk then, son.” Burt said, dryly. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about vampires perving on his son when he changed for gym. There was such a thing as small miracles.

*****

Kurt hummed to himself as he parked Blaine’s car and grabbed his things out of the back seat. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this happy, certainly before the attack and it had probably been even longer than that. Although he couldn’t deny a twinge of nerves, he still smiled and gave a small wave in greeting to the four vampires, who, as usual, were waiting by the doors for him.

“Hi Kurt.” Wesley greeted him, uncapping his water bottle in his hand. He took a long drink, licking his fangs after recapping the bottle.

“Hi…um…Wes.” Kurt said, taken by surprise. He knew his eyes were so wide that you could drive truck through them. He had seen other vampires in the school drinking from the bottles before and knew that they didn’t contain water, but he had never seen any of the Warblers so blatantly show who they were, especially not the carefully controlled Wesley Hughes.

“So, how was your weekend? Your dad buy the excuse about your car or did you get in trouble?” Wes didn’t say anything else, but chanced a quick, side-long glance at Kurt which showed shock, but no fear. He couldn’t quite hide a superior smirk. He knew he’d been right.

“It was okay. Dad didn’t even question what happened to the car. He’s going to come and get it later today.” Kurt answered, recovering somewhat. “I ended up spending most of it in my room because of the weather and my annoying step-brother.”

“I didn’t know you had a step brother,” Blaine said. Kurt shrugged.

“We don’t exactly get along very well anymore,” Kurt said. 

“I’m sorry,” Blaine said sympathetically. Kurt shrugged again.

“It is what it is,” Kurt replied.

“I’m sorry your weekend was so rough, but at least it’s going to be a good week,” Wes said enthusiastically. 

“Oh? Why is that?” Kurt asked. 

“We have our winter dance on Friday night.” Wes was giddy with anticipation. “We usually have the girls from Crawford come over to join us.”

“Sounds like fun.” Kurt would never admit the hurt in his heart that he wouldn’t be included. It wasn’t like a human would get to participate in their rituals; some things were still sacred at Dalton and he understood that. “Better get to class before we’re late.”

Kurt was sitting in the common room, snacking on a granola bar when several of the Warblers strolled in, chatting and not realizing that he was there, or so he thought.

“I’m headed down to the bank to get a snack. Anyone else want anything?” Nick asked.

Jeff tossed his own bottle at Nick. “Yeah, get me one that’s positive today. I did well on Mr. Wright’s test and I think I deserve a little treat.”

“Oh hell no.” Blaine said. “You get way too hyper. Get him his usual. He tossed his own bottle at Nick. “I’ll take an O negative please.”

Kurt’s head was spinning with how casually they were talking about drinking blood in his presence. It was like they’d almost forgotten he was human. His eyes widened suddenly as he realized it was because they trusted him and it sent a rush of warmth through him. They truly accepted him. They didn’t care that he was human and they were showing him this by letting their guards down. Well if they could do it, so could he. 

*****

Thursday, Kurt trudged across the cold campus, he was sure he had hypothermia because he was so cold. He had barely made it through the doors when Jeff and Nick showed up.

“Kurt, your lips are blue and you’re shivering.” Nick said, looking over the boy from head to toe.

“That’s because it’s absolutely frigid out there. I was over in Williams Hall and walked over here.” Kurt answered, his teeth chattering. He took off his coat and realized that the boys were wearing the same light jackets they’d had on that morning. “Aren’t you cold at all?”

Jeff shrugged. “The cold doesn’t really affect us. Neither does the heat. The only thing that does affect us is warm human bodies. They are delightful. Care for a cuddle partner? I can get you hot in no time.” He couldn’t help but give Kurt a searing look.

“No, Jeffery. I think a cup of coffee and a hot shower is what I need right now.” Kurt stammered as he headed towards the common room, followed by the boys.

“You can get a shower in the room you used Friday night. No one will care,” Nick said.

“Excellent idea Nick. I volunteer to hold your towel.” Jeff smirked, his fangs peeking out from under his lip. “Or even better, wash your back? I’ve been told I’m pretty good at both.”

Blaine strolled up behind Jeff quietly and smacked him in the head. 

“Ow! What the hell man?” Jeff pouted.

“Stop bothering Kurt. I could hear his heart speed up from down the hall.”

“Jealous that just talking to me gets his heart racing, Blaine?” Jeff teased.

”That, Jeffery, was not talking. That was flirting, and he was clearly not comfortable with it,” Blaine responded a tad snappishly. His tone much more gentle when he turned to address Kurt “Why don’t you go take that shower while I go get you coffee. It will be waiting for you when you get done. We wouldn’t want you to get sick.”

“Yes Dad,” Kurt smirked rolling his eyes. “Although I think you are seriously overestimating the time I spend in the shower. I may be a diva Blaine, but I am not a girl. The closet coffee shop is at least ten minutes away. By the time you get there, get the coffee and get back, I’ll be out of my shower, dressed, and have my hair styled.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I travel a little faster than most and I can guarantee the coffee will be hot and waiting when you get done.” Blaine grinned widely, giving Kurt a glance at his own fangs for the first time.

“Please… I realize you guys are all super speedy and stuff, but there is no way,” Kurt scoffed. Blaine just smirked.

“I’ll bring you chocolate biscotti to go with it,” he said waving as Kurt entered the room he’d used the previous weekend.

As Kurt showered, he let his mind drift to the way the Warblers had been going out of their way to let him see their vampire nature. He had thought, when he’d first noticed it, that it would eventually scare him, but it oddly made him feel safer around them. It was natural and just a part of who they were, like Jeff’s annoyingly flirty nature and Blaine’s comforting, protectiveness. They weren’t holding anything back from him anymore and he could feel himself starting to trust them more and more. He smiled when he left the room to find Blaine leaning casually against the opposite wall with a hot cup of coffee in his hand, the steam still rising from the cup.

“You know, I have officially decided that there are some very nice advantages to having vampires as friends,” Kurt murmured after taking a sip.

“Oh, I see. You’re just using me for my awesome coffee fetching abilities,” Blaine grinned, his fangs peeking out from the edge of his lips.

“Darn, you’ve found me out. I guess I’ll just to find more ways you’re useful and take advantage of them instead,” Kurt said flirtatiously, shocked at himself for doing so. 

“I would have absolutely no problem with that,” Blaine huskily responded. Kurt blushed, hastily taking another sip of his coffee.

“And you’re yelling at me for making his heart race, Anderson?” Jeff’s voice floated down the hallway to them. Blaine’s eyes narrowed.

“Excuse a moment Kurt,” Blaine said turning and chasing after a now maniacally laughing Jeff as Nick tried to make peace and Wesley attempted to convince Blaine that they could not afford to have their lead singer expelled for injuring another student. Giggling at their antics, Kurt followed his friends down the hall.

*****

Friday afternoon…

It was odd to Kurt that just one week ago he had been terrified at the thought of being forced to stay in the school overnight and now he was finding excuses for himself not to go. He had stayed and completed a paper and two assignments, as well as put in some work on the project he was doing with Blaine. Finally, however, realizing that he couldn’t delay any longer without seriously freaking out his father, he called a halt to the work they were doing and began to pack up his stuff.

“Crap! I didn’t realize how late it was getting I’ve really got to go guys,” he said, shoving his lit book into his bag. The boys all exchanged those looks Kurt was coming to realize meant he’d done something which they didn’t understand.

“Kurt, aren’t you staying for the dance?” Blaine asked when Kurt started to buckle up his heavy coat and head for the exit.

“No.” Kurt answered quickly. He definitely planned to be out of the school when the girls from Crawford and the other invited guests arrived. He wasn’t ready to face that many vampires that he didn’t know and wasn’t comfortable around in one space. There was also a part of him that couldn’t help but worry he would be seen as the entertainment or dinner.

“Why not?” Blaine asked. Kurt shrugged, looking down.

“I wasn’t sure that I would be welcome,” he murmured.

“Not welcome?” Blaine frowned. “Who has made you feel like you would not be welcome?” Kurt couldn’t help but notice the slight reddish tint Blaine’s eyes had taken on and he took an involuntary step back.

“N-n-no-one. I just didn’t think I would be welcome by some of the guests tonight. You guys are amazing. I trust you, but others I’m not so sure of and honestly, I prefer to stay alive.” Kurt knew it was a petty response, and he hadn’t meant for it to come out like it did, but, he was forced to admit, it was sort of how he felt. As much as the Warblers were making him feel welcome, there were still vampires out there that saw humans as little more than a necessary evil.

“Kurt I wish you would have said something sooner. We could have helped you through this, but I do understand. Tell your father I said hi and I hope you have an amazing week-end.” Blaine said. “I’ll see you Monday?”

“Only if you promise to have another cup of coffee waiting on me,” Kurt tossed over his shoulder grinning. He didn’t want to leave for the weekend on a sour note so he tried to restore the playful, somewhat flirty tone he and Blaine had established over the last week.

“Of course,” Blaine chuckled. Kurt opened the front doors and was about to head out them when he was stopped once more by the hazel eyed vampire. “Oh and Kurt I really do wish you were coming tonight. I was hoping for at least one dance.” With that, Blaine turned and quickly disappeared down the hallway before Kurt could even come up with a response.

 

*****

By the time dinner was over that night, Kurt had just about decided that an entire dance filled with vampires lusting for his blood would have been preferable to spending the evening with Carole and Finn. They had once again poked and prodded him about his new school. Finn had even gone so far as to suggest that he was betraying New Directions by attending Dalton. The second he was done with the dishes, Kurt was going to lock himself in his room, put on a movie, indulge himself with a facial, and try to pretend he was pretty much anywhere but Lima, Ohio. He was drying the last dish when the not so dulcet tones of his stepbrother sounded from the living room.

“Mom,” Finn hollered up the stairs to his mother after dinner. “It’s still ok if everyone comes over tonight right?”

“Of course, dear. You know your friends are always welcome,” she hollered back as Kurt cringed and the realization of just who “everyone” would entail hit him. He quickly hurried to the living room.

“When will they be here?” Kurt asked, realizing he probably would feel more comfortable with the vampires at Dalton than dealing with anyone in New Directions and hoping he’d have time to go out somewhere before they got there.

“They should be here in about fifteen minutes.” He glanced at his watch as the doorbell rang. “Better make that right now.”

Finn went to answer the door as Kurt headed for the stairs. If he was lucky, maybe he’d make it out before they noticed him. 

“What are you doing here? Spying on us for the Warblers?” Rachel snidely asked when she walked into the living room and saw Kurt at the bottom of the steps. Cursing softly under his breath, he turned to face his “friends”.

“It’s my house, Rachel.” Kurt acidly replied flopping down on the couch. “I do still live here you know. And the Warblers not only don’t need to spy on you, they would never lower themselves to something like that.” 

“So you’re saying that you think they’re better than us?” Rachel practically screeched. Kurt rolled his eyes.

“Did I say that?” Kurt snapped. Sam stepped in between the two arguing divas before things could escalate any further.

“It’s nice to see you Kurt, and it’s actually kind of good you’re here because we want to talk to you.” He said as the rest of the group took spots around the living room. Kurt noticed Mike, Tina, and Puck exchange a surprised and worried look which reminded him vaguely of the silent communication which took place between his friends at Dalton. The three vampires almost seemed to draw back as if to separate themselves from the others.

“Okay.” Kurt wasn’t sure what they could possibly have to say to him. “Why do I feel like I’m on an episode of Intervention?”

Mercedes was the first to speak, pinning Kurt with her dark eyes. “Because you sort of are Kurt…I really believe that you need to apologize.”

“Who exactly should I apologize to?” Kurt asked, looking at Mercedes. She had been the first vampire he’d ever known and enjoyed spending time with. Right now, he wasn’t so sure about their friendship or if it had meant anything if the way she was looking at him was any indication.

“David, of course.” Mercedes kept her eyes locked on the boy in front of her.

“David? On a first name basis now are we? Well, let me tell you something Mercedes Jones, hell will freeze over first,” Kurt sneered, keeping his own eyes on his friend, as the sharp sting of betrayal ripped open the wounds he was just beginning to heal.

“He is in a difficult spot, Kurt, and while we all don’t agree on this point, an apology would help him come to terms with what happened.” Mercedes calmly said, already picking up on the anger radiating off of Kurt.

“He’s just going to have to be in a difficult spot then, Mercedes, because I have no intention of apologizing to that overgrown mongrel.” Kurt spat out the words as if they burned his tongue. “How dare you! How can you possibly suggest this to me? He attacked me. He could have killed me! Do you even care? Do any of you or do you all agree with her?”

“I sure as hell don’t agree with this.” Puck plainly answered. “It’s not your fault his creator abandoned him and I don’t think you should have to apologize for something he did of his own free will. He has no honor at all. What he did goes against everything we stand for… everything that the Clan Chiefs and Council have worked for.”

“Thank you, Puck.” Kurt gave a small smile. 

“Puck’s right. I can’t believe any of you think that Kurt should be the one apologizing, especially you Mercedes. He did nothing to provoke this. I’m sure Tina feels the same way.” Mike answered, nodding at Tina. “Not that an apology would do any good at this point, but if anyone should be apologizing it should be Karofsky.”

“And for one of us to be the one suggesting it,” Tina said coldly directing a stern glare at Mercedes. “Is abhorrent. We should know above everyone just how deplorable Karofsky’s actions were.” Tina replied. “My father is working hard to make sure things like this don’t happen. I’m sure if I talked to him, he wouldn’t expect an innocent victim to admit fault and I’m sure Uncle Duncan would be MOST displeased to find out one of his clan suggested it.”

“But Kurt isn’t innocent, is he?” Quinn asked, her eyes narrowing as she honed in on him.

“Excuse me?” Kurt looked at the girl.

“Dude, you’re my brother and I hate to believe what everyone is saying, but it’s hard not to. You left. You’ve never defended yourself. You don’t have to deal with the fall-out of this, we do.” Finn whined.

“I wasn’t aware that I needed to defend myself when I am the victim!” Kurt snapped. “What exactly is everyone saying?”

“Everyone likes Karofsky and they feel like you led him on, set him up, and ran away when it got out of your control. And I’m starting to think they’re right, Kurt.” Rachel shrilly interjected, every line of her body screaming her disapproval of Kurt.

“If you would just come back and apologize, we’d all be able to just move on.” Quinn smiled sweetly, even if her eyes stayed cold. “It’s not that big of a deal, Kurt, so please don’t make it one.”

“Not that big of a deal? You are all out of your minds. I will never apologize to Karofsky, ever!” Kurt shouted.

“Just be a man and apologize.” Finn shouted. “The looks I get… everyone talking about our family like they’re trash… This is your fault! You started this Kurt!”

“How is it my fault, Finn? Because I’m really interested in hearing what you think.” Kurt yelled, knowing it would alert his dad to the problem in the living room. He couldn’t believe they were attacking him like this.

“You led him on. You had a crush on him just like you did on me and Karofsky called your bluff. You’re just trying to protect your innocent little reputation. You’re a blood whore Kurt. First Karofsky and now who knows how many guys at Dalton.” Kurt rose to his feet visibly shaking.

“You go to hell, Finn Hudson. I can’t believe you would say that to me.”

“But it’s true, isn’t it, Kurt?” Quinn’s look was calculating. “Karofsky was more man than you could handle and now you’re trying to save face. It’s understandable that you would make something like this up, I mean you’ve always been desperate for attention, but you have to do the right thing.”

“Do you all think that?” Kurt looked around the room and was dismayed at how many people agreed with nods. “I can’t believe I ever thought any of you were my friends. I hate you.” Kurt hissed, unable to hide his hurt and anger at the ones he’d once considered to be his closest allies.

“Kurt, aren’t you being a little dramatic?” Rachel rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry you are upset that we realized what you’re doing and now are trying to save face. You really need to do the right thing.”

“No, I am not being overly dramatic, Miss Rachel Berry.” Kurt shrieked. “You were all there. You saw me after the attack. Do you seriously think I would put myself into a position like that? Do you think I would want something like that to happen?”

“Kurt, I think it would be a good idea for you to beg the Vampire Council’s forgiveness and apologize.” Mercedes said dispassionately. “You can’t keep lying because it will eventually catch up to you. What do you think those vampires you go to school with are going to do when they find out the truth about you?”

“I’ve heard enough.” Burt bellowed, storming down the stairs. He’d been on his way to the kitchen for dessert when the raised voices had caught his attention and he had listened in shock as his son’s friends had attacked him. Kurt looked like he was ready to cry. Finn had his hands balled into fists and Burt was worried that punches were about ready to be thrown. “If you don’t live in this house, go home now. Kurt, go upstairs. Finn, I want to talk to you in the garage. NOW!”


	5. Chapter Five

“And the House of Draculesti led by their Dark Prince, Vladimir Tepes, swept across Europe assimilating any clans which stood in their way. In a similar manner, the Asian continent was conquered by the vicious ranks of the House of Chang, while in America the Hughes family, through stealth, political intrigue, and sheer wealth were able to dominate. As each of these houses gained power, war seemed inevitable until the Dracul proposed an alliance… a governing council of Covens and thus was the High Council formed, but still there was unrest for who should lead? So a challenge… combat to the death was issued. The winner would be the High King of the Vampires. The three leaders met upon the field of battle but not a blow was exchanged as with the sheer force of his mind alone Vladimir Tepes brought the others to their knees, sparing their lives in exchange for their allegiance and brotherhood.”

-an excerpt from “The History of the High Council” by Nathaniel Tepes Anderson

 

Kurt couldn’t help but feel so alone when he arrived for school on Monday morning. He hadn’t slept well and the tension in the house had been awful because every time he looked at Finn, he flashed back to his own step-brother not believing he hadn’t instigated Karofsky’s attack. He could barely muster a hello when a smiling Blaine met him at the doors to Dalton, steaming cup of coffee in hand.

“Kurt, what’s wrong?” Blaine asked as he approached the pale boy.

“It’s nothing Blaine,” Kurt shrugged. “It was just a long weekend.” Blaine frowned, clearly not believing him.

“Okay, but if you need to talk, I’m here.” Blaine handed him the coffee. Blaine had become a student of Kurt’s moods since he had started at Dalton. Although Jeff may have accused him of being a stalker, Blaine knew that Kurt looking as pale as he did now was a bad sign. 

“I just don’t want to talk about it, okay?” Kurt knew that Blaine would listen if he wanted to talk, but he wasn’t ready to right now. He needed to get some distance from the poorly planned intervention. 

“Alright, for now, Kurt, but just know if you need to talk, we’re here for you.” Blaine smiled at him, trying to put him at ease. Seeing Kurt so troubled disturbed him in ways he would rather not examine too closely at this point in their relationship. He knew he was coming to care for the boy far more than a friend should.

“I know Blaine, and thanks,” Kurt said, smiling sadly before heading off to his first class.

Blaine watched him go with a frown on his face. Seeing Kurt so troubled disturbed him in ways he would rather not examine too closely at this point in their relationship. He knew he was coming to care for the boy far more than a friend should. Narrowing his eyes in thought for a moment, Blaine pulled his cell phone from his pocket and hit one of the speed dial buttons. It was picked up almost immediately.

“Hey. It’s me,” Blaine said, pausing to listen for a moment. “What do you mean you’ve been waiting for me to call? … They did what? … Why am I just now hearing about this? … I see, well for future reference I do. He’s important to me, extremely important…. Exactly… He’s a wreck. How would you expect him to be after something like that? … I know… I know you do. Okay. Just make sure you keep them away from him from now on or there will be hell to pay. Am I clear?”

******

The Warblers watched Kurt tense up more and more the closer it got to 4:30, the time he generally left to return home. It had been like this for the last several weeks. Kurt had been increasingly stressed out, and judging by the dark circles under his eyes, hadn’t been sleeping. He barely responded to Jeff’s flirty comments or anything else for that matter. The only time he seemed somewhat normal was when he was with Blaine. While they all were worried about the boy, however, none was more so than Blaine. He watched the human with an intensity bordering on obsession. Wes, Jeff, and Nick were starting to worry about him almost as much as they were Kurt.

The three boys waited until Kurt left before exchanging a look. Clearing his throat, Wes stepped forward. Blaine interrupted him before he could say anything, however.

“Kurt’s right you know. That whole unspoken communication thing you just did is a little on the creepy side,” he said with a smirk, not even bothering to look up from his homework. 

“Nice try at deflection Anderson, but it’s not going to work. We’re worried about you and we’re worried about Kurt. You want to let us in on what is going on exactly or do I need to call in reinforcements?” Wes said sternly. Blaine sighed closing his book and looking up.

“I’m fine, just concerned for Kurt, as far as what is going on with him, that’s not my place to say. You’ll have to ask him,” Blaine said firmly.

“Fuck that!” Jeff said. “I know you have this whole secret love thing going on for Kurt, but he’s our friend too. We care about him. We deserve to know what’s going on, and there’s no way in hell he’s going to tell us.” 

“I’m not betraying his trust,” Blaine insisted.

“So you know what’s going on?” Nick asked. Blaine nodded.

“And Kurt told you?” Wes interrogated.

“Well how else would I know?” Blaine answered. Wes’ eyes narrowed.

“Now you’re dodging the question. Kurt didn’t tell you, although I’m guessing he’s discussed it with you. You found out some other way. The question is how,” he said. Jeff stared intently at Blaine who had gone back to reading his book studiously avoiding their gaze.

“Nothing is happening here so it has to be something at his home which means you had to talk to someone in Lima, so either Mike, Tina, or Puck,” Jeff said, a triumphant smirk lighting up his face when Blaine twitched at the mention of Puck’s name. “Puckerman… I should have known. He is your Second after all. He’s pretty much genetically incapable of not doing what you want.”

“He has free will Jeff and you know how much it annoys him when you say things like that,” Blaine pointed out. 

“Of course I know. Why do you think I do it?” Jeff grinned, pulling out his cellphone.

“He’s not going to tell you anything,” Blaine said. “And not because I told him not to.”

“Jeff, put the phone away. It’s up to Kurt if he wants us to know,” Nick said. Jeff looked annoyed, but did as Nick asked. “We don’t need to know exactly what’s going on to know he needs help though Blaine. I know you’re trying but…”

“I know,” Blaine said, tiredly rubbing his forehead. “I promised him I wouldn’t say anything to anyone though.”

“Well, I didn’t,” Wes said decisively rising and heading for the door of the common room.

“Wesley! No! Where are you going?” Blaine demanded.

“The Headmaster’s office,” Wes tossed over his shoulder as he left the room.

****

When young Wesley Hughes had come to him the day before with his concerns about the Hummel boy, the headmaster had immediately gone and talked to his staff, many of whom also voiced their fears for the human. He decided to pull Kurt into his office first thing the next morning. He just hoped he would be able to assist him with whatever was causing him so much distress. The worry he had for the young man only intensified when he presented himself as requested.

“You wanted to see me sir?” Kurt said politely, every line in his body screaming at an exhaustion that was clearly more than just physical. The world, it appeared had finally begun to beat Kurt Hummel down.

“Yes Kurt. Come in and have a seat please,” the headmaster said smiling to hide his deep concern, the merest hint of fang showing.

“Kurt, Wesley Hughes came to me about you. He is quite worried about you. As are many of the staff members,” Headmaster Schaffer said. 

“What are you talking about?” Kurt asked, a mask of polite confusion on his face. Internally he was a bit of a mess. Things between him and Finn and Carole were beyond terrible. He was completely confused about his growing feelings for Blaine. On top of all of that, he was still trying to deal with all his fears and anxieties from the attack

“Your teachers informed me that you’ve been distracted lately and we can all sense the tension coming off of you. Now, we take an interest in all of our students, Kurt, but you are a special student here and we take a particular interest in you. Is there any way at all that any of us can help you with whatever this problem is?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” Kurt steadfastly answered. He didn’t want anyone at Dalton to think anything was wrong with him. It was bad enough that Blaine knew. He was trying so hard to be the strong one; the one that nothing could touch.

“Now, Kurt, I think we both know that’s not true.” Headmaster Schaffer was not about to let Kurt go without some answers. “I promise you nothing you say here will leave this office without your consent.”

Kurt bit his lip, eyeing the headmaster nervously. He was so sick of everything. He was so tired of hiding. He needed help. “It’s my brother, Finn.” Kurt finally admitted.

“Ah…” Headmaster Schaffer recalled reading about Kurt’s step-brother in his file and Dalton application. Finn Hudson wasn’t the most intelligent human he’d come across and the boy clearly did not use what little brains he did have.

“He wants me to apologize to that… vampire and come back to McKinley.” Kurt hissed through gritted teeth.

“I see,” the headmaster said, only the slightest flicker of his eyes giving an indication of his shock at Kurt’s words. “While I can certainly understand why your brother would want you closer to home, why would he feel you need to apologize for something that was clearly not your fault?” He was appalled at the ridiculous idea that Kurt was to blame for Karofsky’s actions. He’d seen it before. 

“He and most of my old friends from McKinley all think that since Karofsky was abandoned by his creator, his actions weren’t his fault because he had no one to guide him and help him learn to control his urges. They think that because I’m gay that I was trying to seduce him or something and that when Karofsky acted on my overtures, I couldn’t handle it. I’m supposed to be the bigger person and do the right thing, according to Finn, but I just can’t. ”

“While I sympathize with those who have been abandoned, your friends can’t expect you to do something you’re not comfortable with. And being gay doesn’t have anything to do with a vampire attacking a human being. It is certainly not a reason or an excuse. Vampires are bound to an honor and ethics code, or at least most are. The vampires attending Dalton take that code very seriously.” Headmaster Schaffer had dealt with these types of situations before, but this was the first time where the victim’s friends were actively encouraging them to apologize to their attacker. It was mind boggling to him.

“My so called friends said until I make peace with Karofsky, they don’t want anything to do with me. Even my step-brother said he doesn’t want to look at me and asked if I could move into the dorms here.” Kurt was angry and hurt and so very confused. A part of him was even starting to wonder if maybe the others were right.

“Kurt, I am sorry for what you are going through. What does your father think about this?” He asked, having met Burt Hummel twice and knowing how protective Kurt’s father was over his son.

“My Dad and Carole are fighting. Carole thinks Finn is right and my Dad is supporting me.” Kurt finished. “I feel like I’m in the middle of a mess and can’t get out of it. I just… I don’t know what to do.”

“Kurt, even if you don’t want to board here permanently, you are more than welcome to use one of the guest rooms until things at home ease up.” Headmaster Schaffer wanted Kurt to have a safe place to go because he liked Kurt and had come to appreciate how strong the boy was facing his fears like he had. He genuinely wanted to see him happy and smiling once again.

“I really don’t want to be an imposition.” 

“You are not an imposition and I don’t want you to feel that way.” Headmaster Schaffer said kindly. “Now, I just want to make sure that you aren’t thinking of doing anything crazy because you are having a difficult time right now.”

“Are you really asking me if I could…if I would…”

“Kurt, I think I have good reason to be worried from everything you’ve told me.” Headmaster Schaffer answered calmly. “It is part of my job to make sure all of the students here are safe. Just please know that you have friends here who care about what happens to you.”

“No, I would never hurt myself because of him. I have future plans and they consist of me being alive to complete them.” Kurt answered firmly.

“I am glad to hear that, Kurt, and I want you to know that my door is always open if you need to talk or need some space.”

“Thank you for everything.” Kurt nodded rising to leave.

“You’re very welcome,” the headmaster answered. “Oh, and Kurt, despite what they are saying, anyone who has spent more than a few moments with you knows that what happened is in no way your fault.”

Feeling much lighter, Kurt left the office in search of the people he now knew to be his true friends.

*****

“Why did you get pulled out of class?” Blaine asked once Kurt arrived in the common room with his lunch.

“Headmaster Schaffer wanted to talk to me about some things. Apparently Wesley went to talk to him.”

“Kurt, I swear I didn’t say anything to them.” Blaine was immediately on edge. To say he liked spending time with Kurt would be an understatement. He certainly did not want this coming between them.

“I know Blaine. If Wesley had known what was going on, the Headmaster wouldn’t have been so surprised by what I had to say,” Kurt reassured him, sending Wes a glare. 

“You told him?” Blaine said his eyebrows arching with surprise. Kurt nodded his head, opening his mouth to tell Blaine about his meeting when his phone chimed signaling a text. Frowning he pulled his phone out to check it. Blaine clearly saw the look of horror, anger, and disgust cross the other boy’s face. He was almost sure there had been a hint of fear as well.

“What’s wrong?” Blaine was on immediate alert; one didn’t have all those emotions flash across their face unless something was desperately wrong. Kurt felt all of the Warblers looking at him.

“Not something I want to discuss here, Blaine. Can we go somewhere please?” Kurt answered paler than Blaine had ever seen him and shaking slightly.

“I think that would be a good idea.” Wes answered, knowing how uncomfortable Kurt was made even still with vampires who weren’t his friends, although this was obviously something more than that.

****

“Kurt, what is wrong?” Blaine demanded. “I know you were in the Headmaster’s Office for more than just a check in and then when you got that text, you practically shut down.”

“I’ll tell you that, but first I think I owe the others an explanation,” Kurt admitted holding a hand up for silence when all of the Warblers almost simultaneously opened their mouths to comment. “I’m having some issues at home. I’ve talked to Blaine about them and I want you to know as well, but I need you to let me finish and then you can respond. I just need to get through all of it at once.” Kurt took in a deep breath and told his friends what was going on with his family back in Lima.

The room was silent as the boys listened to Kurt tell them about Finn, New Directions, Karofsky, and the fall-out. Then the room exploded when Kurt was finished.

“Are they serious?” Nick asked, horrified by the idea of Kurt’s former friends supporting his attacker. 

“They want you to face Karofsky? To apologize? Are all humans nuts or is it the ones just at McKinley?” Jeff demanded.

“The whole idea is beyond preposterous,” Wesley added.

“I just don’t think I could ever be in the same room as him again.” Kurt admitted, rubbing his hands up and down his arms in a comforting manner. “Just knowing he still lives in Lima is bad enough. When I go home, I don’t go out alone because I am afraid that he just might show up someplace. It’s like I’m the one who wronged him.”

“Kurt…” Blaine’s heart broke knowing Kurt was still so tormented by Karofsky. There should be something he should be able to do,

“No one should be forcing you to do something you’re not comfortable with. We would never expect you to do something of the sort and if you’re friends in Lima are; perhaps you should reconsider if they’re really your friends.” Wes gently commented. He hated to see Kurt this upset.

“Believe me, I have,” Kurt said. He paused for a moment seeming to gather his thoughts before continuing. “I also wanted to thank you guys… for your support and for sticking with me, even though I wasn’t always the nicest to you.” 

“You weren’t that bad,” Blaine reassured him. Jeff snorted.

“Speak for yourself Anderson. He never threatened you with a knife,” he pointed out.

“Nothing happened. I took care of it,” Blaine said. “And it was your own fault Jeff.”

“I’d forgotten about that,” Kurt said, looking embarrassed. “I’m really sorry for that Jeff.” Jeff shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it man,” he said. “No harm done. Blaine took care of it with his freaky super powers.” Kurt frowned.

“So you did do something to me?” he asked. Blaine looked uncomfortable.

“Errmm… sort of… it’s kind of a thing people in my family can do. It’s sort of complicated. So… what are you going to do about things in Lima?” Blaine said hoping to divert attention away from himself. It was a sign of just how difficult the situation was for Kurt that it actually worked.

“I have no idea. I’m not going to apologize that’s for sure, but it’s tearing my family apart,” he said, his face bleak. 

“Just remember who you are, Kurt.” Nick said. “You’re Kurt Hummel.”

“Diva extraordinaire, fashionista!” Jeff added, putting an arm around him.

“First ever human Warbler,” Wes inserted.

“You’re beautiful inside and out Kurt,” Blaine said. “And if they can’t see that, if they can’t understand that what happened to you was in no way your fault, then it’s their loss.”

“I honestly have no idea what it was that made you guys so determined to be my friends, but I am so grateful that you are. Thank you.” Kurt said with tears in his eyes. He was genuinely touched by their kind words of support, something he had only ever had before from his Dad. Blaine and Wes exchanged slightly guilty looking glances.

“I need to be honest with you, Kurt.” Wes carefully looked at the boy in front of him. “With your other friends betraying you like they have, I don’t want to give you cause to question our motives. We had a reason that we met you that first day.”

“Oh?” Kurt asked, unsurprised. Dalton wasn’t really the kind of school where people just randomly hung out by the front doors waiting on new kids to show up. 

“My cousin asked me to watch out for you. She’s a friend of yours and she really does care about you. She’s been calling me to check up on how you’re doing here. It was actually her that convinced the Council to offer you the spot at Dalton.”

“Who do I know that would have power to do something like that?” Kurt was thinking about all the vampires that he knew in Lima. He didn’t think he knew anyone with that sort of influence. 

“Surely you know the position of power that Tina’s father holds.” Wes answered, hiding a smile.

“Not really. We usually talked about fashion and boys.” Kurt replied. “She did used to joke about her dad being king of the Asian vampires but…”

“I think his actual title is Clan Chief of the Asian Vampire Covens,” Blaine murmured looking uncomfortable again.

“If you’re going to be staying at Dalton, perhaps you should know. Blaine, Tina, and I are all related. My father and Blaine’s mom were brother and sister. Just like Tina’s father and my mother are brother and sister. My father married her to cement an alliance between the Asian Clan and the North American Clan, which my father is in charge of. They, along with Blaine’s father, who is the Clan Chief of the European Clan Chief, make up the leadership of the Vampire Council, although technically Uncle Nathaniel is the head of the Council because he is also the Draculesti.”

“So wait a minute… you guys are all what? Cousins?” Kurt asked.

“Well, Tina isn’t technically my cousin,” Blaine answered. “But we’ve always considered ourselves family anyway.”

“And you guys are all like the president’s kids?” Kurt asked, flabbergasted.

“More like the king’s kids.” Jeff chimed in with a chuckle. “It’s an inherited title.”

“Seriously? I’m in the presence of royalty?” Kurt asked. His voice had gone up at least two octaves in shock as he looked at the boys gathered in the room. He was having a hard time reconciling the fact that the young men whom he had come to know and trust and rely on were the vampire equivalent of the royal family.

“It’s not that big of a deal, Kurt.” Blaine shrugged. 

“Says the Prince of the Draculesti,” Jeff snorted. Kurt frowned.

“Draculesti?” Kurt asked. “I’ve never heard that term before.”

“In our language it means descendent of the dragon,” Blaine said awkwardly.

“Otherwise known as the High Chief or King of All Vampires,” Jeff said. Blaine sighed.

“It’s really not that big of a deal Kurt,” Blaine repeated, hoping this wouldn’t change things between him and Kurt.

“Maybe to you it’s not a big deal, but to me, it’s mind blowing.” Kurt answered. “Should I call you sir or master or lord now?”

“Technically his title is Prince Blaine Vladimir Anderson of the Royal House of Draculesti, but he gets really pissy when you try to call him that,” Jeff said smirking. “If you want to call someone master though, I will volunteer to fill that role any time you’d like, Kurt.”

“Jeffery!” Blaine growled, smacking him in the head.

“Ow!” Jeff whined. “Quit oppressing us peasants, you tyrant!”

“Quit complaining. I could have you beheaded instead of just smacking you. And you’re not exactly a peasant Lord Sterling,” Blaine grinned. Jeff rubbed the back of his head glaring at Blaine.

“My title is entirely irrelevant, your supreme royal highness. You’re going to give me brain damage if you keep hitting me in the head,” Jeff pouted.

“You don’t already have it?” Kurt asked innocently, sending the Warblers into a laughing fit. 

“Kurt,” Blaine said, realizing something. “You never said why you reacted to that text the way you did. Was it from one of your friends?” Blaine immediately regretted his words when he saw Kurt’s reaction.

“No,” Kurt said dully, shutting down like none of them had seen before. “It was from him. I don’t know how he got my number. I changed it. Someone must’ve given it to him.”

“Let me see it,” Blaine ordered. Kurt’s eyes widened at the command.

“It… it’s not that big of a deal… I…” Kurt tried to explain it away. There was no way he wanted Blaine to see something like that.

“Kurt…hand me your phone,” Blaine demanded, holding his hand out. “Please.”

Biting his lip, Kurt pulled out his phone scrolling through until he found the text and handed it to Blaine. The normally, so calm and dapper young vampire growled low in his throat and his eyes went a flat feral red.

“Shit!” Jeff exclaimed, immediately latching onto Blaine and holding him in place. 

“Blaine, calm down. Let our father’s deal with this,” Wes said attempting to soothe his cousin. Blaine merely hissed at him in response too angry for words.

“Blaine, stop it! Look what you’re doing to him,” Nick said in voice which was almost too quiet for normal human ears to hear, not that it would have mattered anyway. A terrified Kurt had backed himself in the corner of the room and curled in on himself. 

Taking several deep breaths, Blaine forced himself back to at least the appearance of normal even if underneath it his was making plans to flail every inch of skin from Karofsky’s still screaming body. Slowly, and carefully, he approached Kurt, holding out his hand and giving the boy back his phone.

“Kurt,” he said gently. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that… that I frightened you.” His voice was full of anguish. He cared deeply for the blue eyed young man and hated that Kurt was so clearly terrified of him.

“I…” Kurt said, swallowing thickly. “It’s alright. I just… I wasn’t expecting it. You’re always so in control and suddenly you weren’t.” Blaine looked down.

“I’m sorry. It just made me so angry…the things he said to you…that he threatened to do to you…I would die before I’d let that happen, Kurt. Please believe that. You…you’re so important to me…more important than I think you’re ready to know and I…” 

Blaine was shocked when Kurt suddenly put his fingers to his lips to silence him.

“Shhh…You’re right…I’m not ready, but I will be…I think I may even want to be…just not yet…but soon,” Kurt admitted. Blaine gave him a tentative smile.

“Soon,” he responded.

“So, does this mean I don’t get to kick Karofsky’s ass then?” Jeff whined.

“Shut up Jeffrey,” Blaine murmured, his eyes never leaving Kurt. “Why don’t I walk you to your next class?”

“I think I would like that.” Kurt allowed Blaine to guide him from the room and down the hallway.

******

“You were really a cheerleader?” Blaine asked in disbelief. Chuckling Kurt nodded.

“Why do you find that so hard to believe?” he asked. “Do I not strike you as cheerleader material?”

“No… You’re definitely cheerleader material,” Blaine said his voice husky. “You probably looked amazing in the uniform.” Kurt blushed as Blaine’s gaze intensified and he started to lean towards Kurt. Just as the gap between them was almost closed the sound of someone clearing their throat had both boys scurrying apart.

“Heads up gentlemen, Kurtie has company,” Jeff smirked. Kurt turned towards the door only to see the last thing he had expected… his Dad standing somewhat awkwardly in the doorway of the common room sending Blaine death glares.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Kurt exclaimed in surprise getting up to hug his Dad.

“I came to take my son out to dinner, unless you have other plans.” Burt said, sending Blaine another glare.

“Oh… ummm…no, no plans… just umm… studying with Blaine,” Kurt said with a look at Blaine who was looking at Kurt expectantly. “Oh… oh where are my manners? Dad this is Blaine Anderson and Jeff Sterling… they’re friends of mine. Guys this is my Dad Burt Hummel.”

“It’s very nice to meet you sir. Kurt talks about you all of the time,” Blaine said extending his hand and trying not to look as nervous as he felt. Burt took his hand studying the young vampire intently before nodding.

“You too,” he grunted. “So you up for dinner Kurt or are you too busy with your… studies?” Kurt blushed and looked flustered.

“It’s fine. We’re pretty much done and I would love to go out to dinner with you.”

“It will give us some time to talk since you haven’t been answering your phone.” Burt said. “And it looks like we’ve got a lot to discuss.”

“Just let me grab my coat. I’ll be right back,” Kurt said, rushing out of the room. He had no intention of leaving his Dad and Blaine alone any longer than necessary.

“So…” Burt began after Kurt had left. “You and my boy you’re… friends?”

“Umm… y-yes sir,” Blaine answered. “We were just studying for our French test tomorrow.”

“Huh,” Burt said. “That’s what we used to call it back in my day too.”

“Excuse me sir?” Blaine asked.

“Nothing… just you know that Kurt is fluent in French? He doesn’t need to study it. Won Nationals for the Cheerios last year singing some song in French,” Burt said. 

“Busted,” Jeff snorted. “God I wish I was recording this.”

“I… uh… we… he had just told me that… I’m actually the one who needed help,” Blaine said. Blaine nearly sagged in relief when Kurt came back in the room.

“Ready to go?” Kurt asked.

“Whenever you are,” Burt said. 

“Bye guys! See you later,” Kurt said almost dragging his Dad out of the room.

“Nice meeting you boys,” Burt said, sending Blaine one last, hard look before he was pulled through the door.

“Hey Blaine?” Jeff asked his friend with a wide smile.

“What?” He said distractedly. That had not been how he had wanted to meet Kurt’s father.

“Don’t you spend every summer in France with your grandfather?”

“Shut up Jeffrey… just shut up,” Blaine said tiredly. Laughing, Jeff left the room. He couldn’t wait to tell Nick and Wes.

 

****

Kurt and his dad kept up a steady flow of chatter the whole way to the restaurant and all the way until they got their food. Kurt told Burt all about his classes and all of the things he and the Warblers had been doing. Burt, meanwhile, filled Kurt in on everything happening with him and the garage. It wasn’t until dessert when Burt got silent and Kurt sensed he was about to find out the real reason for this impromptu mid-week visit.

“Were you going to tell me about Karofsky sending you texts?” Burt asked with a raised eyebrow.

“How did you find out?” Kurt was so stunned that his father knew that he didn’t even think about trying to deny it.

“I have my sources, and it doesn’t matter anyway. What matters is that you didn’t tell me.”

“I didn’t think that you needed anything else to worry about and besides, I’ve blocked every number Karofsky has texted from, including Mercedes’ phone.” Kurt admitted.

Burt winced at the icy tone from his son. He remembered when Mercedes was a regular fixture at their house and now she was one of the people hurting Kurt. He never would have believed it of her, of course he never would have believed it of Carole or Finn either and yet they had completely turned on his son. They’d had a very long discussion about that though and Burt sincerely hoped that his wife would be more understanding of Kurt’s feelings. He was hoping for the best at any rate. 

“After dinner, we’re getting you a new phone.”

“Dad, I don’t need a new phone.” Kurt sighed.

“At least agree to get the number changed, for my peace of mind.” Burt offered the compromise because he had to do something.

“I will change my number.” He agreed because it was the easiest thing he could do to put his father’s mind at ease.

“Good. That makes me feel somewhat better.” Burt replied. “Now, about this Blaine kid…”


	6. Chapter Six

“For the newly turned vampire one of the most critical, and perhaps most difficult, things to learn is control. They must relearn how to control their own bodies which are stronger and faster than their human ones. They must learn how to control their senses which are significantly more acute. Most importantly they must learn how to control their hunger and their impulses to hunt and take what their bodies are craving. If they are unable to do this, then they are lost.”

-an excerpt from “The Turned” by Dr. Fredrick Duvall

 

“Enough is enough, Jeff. You need to back off of Kurt.” Blaine had watched all week as Jeff had shamelessly flirted with Kurt. And for reasons he’d rather not think about, he’d grown subtly angrier with the blonde. He had finally snapped on Friday morning when he caught Jeff not so subtly checking out Kurt’s ass as he left the Common Room to head to his next class.

“Why are you suddenly so interested in who I spend my time with or who Kurt spends his time with? It’s not like you’re spending time with him. You’ve been avoiding him like the plague ever since that fiasco in the common room the other day when his dad walked in on you two,” Jeff couldn’t help but tease the other vampire.”

“I have not been avoiding him. I’ve just been very busy and that is not the point. Regardless of my relationship with Kurt, I don’t think he is interested in you and I don’t think you would be good for him.” Blaine shortly answered. “He needs someone more dependable who’s not going to leave him when the next piece of ass comes along.”

“Someone like you, Blaine?” Jeff baited his friend. “Because Kurt is not just a piece of ass to me, you know.”

“I didn’t say that, I am only looking out for Kurt.” Blaine answered sharply.

“You didn’t have to. We’ve been friends for a long time. You think I don’t know how you feel about him? Why do you think I’ve been flirting so shamelessly with him all week? I had to do something for you to get your head out of your ass and man up. You need him, Blaine, as much as he needs you.”

“You mean like you and Nick need each other?” Blaine growled. Jeff’s eyes narrowed in uncharacteristic anger.

“We are not talking about Nick and me, Blaine. Besides you know nothing can happen between us,” Jeff said his tone cold.

“Why?” Blaine challenged. “Because of what happened to Nick or because you’re too scared to try a real relationship?” 

A low growl was the only warning Blaine had before Jeff jumped at him. Despite that, Blaine easily caught the blonde, slamming him to the floor of the common room. Jeff quickly sprang up, aiming a kick at Blaine’s face which he barely managed to duck. With a very animalistic hiss, Blaine grabbed Jeff by his throat, baring his fangs as he pinned the other boy up against the wall his eyes an intense, rage-filled red. Jeff twisted managing to get himself free before flying at Blaine again causing them both to tumble to the floor a tangle of arms and legs.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Wesley bellowed from the doorway of the room. Eyes widening in shock the boys froze, suddenly realizing where they were and what they were doing. “Someone care to explain exactly what is going on here?”

“He started it,” Jeff said immediately, standing up and pulling Blaine up next to him.

“Very mature, Jeff, and I did not,” Blaine responded as he ran his hands through his hair trying, and failing to smooth it back down.

“You so did. You’re the one who got all angry because I pointed out that you needed to quit mooning over Kurt and do something about it,” Jeff said.

“Yes, but you’re the one who attacked me when I pointed out that maybe you should take your own advice with Nick,” Blaine argued. Wes rolled his eyes.

“Oh for the love of all that is holy! “He said his voice filled with frustration. “Blaine, he’s right. You’ve become impossible to live with. Just tell Kurt how you feel so you two can go share sickly sweet glances with each other instead of the looks of desperate longing we’ve all been dealing with lately.”

“Ha!” Jeff said with a smirk which quickly died when Wesley turned on him. 

“And you… It’s been three years. I think Nick is ready and frankly, the ‘I’ll sleep with anyone and anything that moves’ act is getting really, really old Jeffrey. Just tell him how you feel about him already. He’s not going to run away screaming, and unless I’m completely mistaken, he’ll probably tell you it’s about damn time!” Wesley growled. “Either way this little display of testosterone had better never happen again or I will not hesitate to go to your fathers.”

“I’m not afraid of my father,” Blaine muttered. Jeff nodded in agreement. Wes narrowed his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll go to Kurt and Nick then,” he threatened. He smirked as both boys’ eyes widened. “Now go get yourselves cleaned up and get to class.”

As the boys scurried out of the common room, Wesley flopped down on the couch shaking his head and muttering about his clueless idiot friends and their unnecessarily complicated love lives.

****

Blaine had been thinking about what both Jeff and Wes had said all day and, while he would love to just declare his feelings for Kurt and live happily ever after, he knew Kurt was not ready for that yet. He could, however, work on getting to know him better and try to slowly deepen their already flourishing friendship. When he saw Kurt down the hall at his locker after classes were over for the day, he decided to take the opportunity to do just that.

“Umm… hey,” he said coming up next to Kurt as he threw his books in his bag

“Oh… hi Blaine,” Kurt said smiling as he glanced over at his friend. 

“So, how was your day today?” Blaine asked. Kurt shrugged.

“Blaine we have most of our classes together. You know how my day was,” Kurt said puzzled.

“Oh… yeah … you’re right… we do,” Blaine said lamely, mentally berating himself for sounding like a babbling idiot. Kurt frowned looking at his friend.

“Are you ok?” he asked. Blaine’s eyes widened as he nodded frantically.

“Yes… I’m fine… great. I just… um… are you staying here this weekend or are you going back to Lima?” he blurted.

“I’m going home. In fact, I was getting ready to leave. I promised my Dad that I’d be home for Friday night family dinner tonight. Why?” Kurt asked.

“No reason really. If you were staying tonight I was going to see if you maybe wanted to come watch a movie in my room or something, but…” Blaine trailed off.

“Oh,” Kurt breathed, blushing. “I would love to… if I wasn’t leaving I mean.” 

“Maybe another time then?” Blaine asked, somewhat nervously.

“Definitely,” Kurt replied. Blaine smiled at him in that breath taking way which made Kurt’s heart flutter.

“Great! So, I guess I’ll see you Monday?” Blaine asked. Kurt nodded.

‘Yeah,” Kurt said.

“Ok, well, bye Kurt,” Blaine said walking backwards and waving.

“Bye,” Kurt responded. 

He made his way to the parking lot on cloud nine trying to decide exactly what this meant for his relationship with Blaine. The boy was becoming his closest friend, with the possible exception of Nick, but Nick didn’t make his heart flutter or his pulse race. On the other hand, Blaine was a vampire… a vampire prince and Kurt wasn’t sure if he could get past that to pursue a relationship or if he’d even be allowed to because of Blaine’s royal status. He remained lost in his thoughts of his convoluted feelings for Blaine until he pulled into his driveway in Lima. Thoughts of Blaine were quickly replaced by worry over what new drama would unfold at home this weekend.

******

He took a deep fortifying breath before getting out of his car. Kurt couldn’t say he was looking forward to this Friday night dinner, however he was excited to be seeing his dad. He’d been staying at Dalton for the week, citing the need to be on campus to work on projects and driving was too far during the week. It was a convenient and plausible lie which he was sure his father realized, even if he hadn’t said anything.

Burt was waiting for him at the front door. He’d missed his son this week, but he understood that the tension and stress of their house was weighing on Kurt and Dalton had been so wonderful about allowing Kurt to stay on campus besides, those new friends of his were obviously good for him. Kurt actually looked happy when he talked about them, and as far as Burt was concerned, that made them ok in his books. 

“Hey kid. It’s good to have you home.” Burt wrapped his son in a tight hug. “I’ve missed you so much this week.”

“Dad, we talked every day and went to dinner on Wednesday night. I haven’t been away that long.” Kurt murmured, but he hugged his father back almost as fiercely as he was being hugged. He and his Dad had always shared a special bond, and this was the longest the two had been apart since Kurt’s mom had died.

“Too long for me, Kurt. Too long for me.” Burt gave his son another tight squeeze then released him.

“So, where are Carole and Finn?” Kurt asked, deciding that he might as well not delay the inevitable.

“They’re in the kitchen working on dinner,” Burt said, taking Kurt’s bag and carrying it for him.

“Oh…what are we having tonight?” Kurt asked as the two wandered into the house.

“Carole was in charge of the menu, so I’m not sure,” Burt murmured sitting Kurt’s bag at the base of the steps and heading for the kitchen. He paused just outside the door. “But Quinn is here, so heads up.”

“Lovely, all of my favorite people at once. Think I’ll just skip dinner and go to bed,” Kurt said sourly.

“Kurt,” Burt said tiredly. Kurt rolled his eyes.

“I’m kidding Dad,” he said, pasting on a fake smile and pushing through the kitchen door. “Hello everyone.”

“Hello Kurt.” Carole’s words were stilted and slightly tinged with anger. “Nice that you could join us.”

“It’s Friday night dinner with the family, Carole. I do my best not to miss those, although I see it’s more than just family tonight.” Kurt said coolly.

“Quinn is like family, Kurt. You know that. Although, it’s really too bad that you don’t have anyone you could invite over as well,” Carole said in a sweet and obviously false tone. Counting silently back from ten to hold back the scathing retort that was on the tip of his tongue, he did his best to ignore the attitude and biting commentary and focus on the dinner. They were still a family, for now, and he knew it upset his dad when he and Carole fought.

“It’s nice to be home, Carole. Perhaps I will bring home a guest soon.” He said trying not to think about how Blaine would fit into his rather complicated family dynamic. “What are we having for dinner?” 

“We are having macaroni and cheese, salad, pork roast, and chocolate cake.” Carole proudly said, serving the food on the table. “I thought it would be a good idea for Quinn here to learn how to make all of Finn’s favorite foods.” 

“Wow mom! Thanks.” Finn dove into the food, missing the look shared between Kurt and Burt. “Thanks Quinn.”

“How do you like your new school Kurt?” Quinn asked with faux concern as she gripped her silverware in her hand tightly.

“Dalton is good. I’m starting to make some close friends and the academics are excellent.” Kurt answered nicely, mainly for his father because he didn’t want to cause a fight at the table. “I don’t think I will have any problems getting into the college of my choice.”

“Really?” Carole tried to look shocked that her step-son was still thinking about college. “I’m sure you’re not going to get an academic recommendation unless it’s from Dr. Coles.”

“What?” Kurt was confused by Carole’s statement.

“I was upstairs cleaning up when I found this journal on the floor.” Carole said. “Since it didn’t have a name on it, I opened it to find out who it belonged to. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be your little assignment from Dr. Coles. I wasn’t aware that Dalton Academy required their students to be in sessions with the school shrink.”

“How dare you violate my privacy? That is my private journal. No one is supposed to see it.” Kurt shouted at his step-mother, horrified. 

“Carole, what are you doing?” Burt stared at his wife. He knew about Kurt’s sessions because his son had confided in him, but hearing how his wife had overstepped her bounds in their house and then blithely discussed it in front of other people was enough to make him see red.

“I have a right to be concerned when someone in this house is being required to speak to a shrink. I am worried that Kurt might hurt us. I’m just trying to protect our family.” Carole earnestly said.

“Are you out of your mind?” Burt stared at his wife. “Kurt isn’t about to hurt any of us. The school wanted him to speak with someone because of the attack that altered his life. And last time I checked, Kurt is a part of this family! He has a right to privacy in his home. I can’t believe you would do something like this, especially after our last discussion.”

“But honey, we have to think about ourselves and Finn and Quinn. Kurt could really hurt one of us.” Carole tried for the soft, sad eyes.

“Doesn’t work on me, Carole, so knock off the eyes.” Burt wasn’t going to buy her act, not when she’d violated Kurt’s privacy and then embarrassed him in front of Quinn. “And I am confident that my son isn’t crazy.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Mr. Hummel.” Quinn gleefully chimed into the conversation. “It’s only a matter of time before he acts out and tries to hurt someone at that fancy prep school and they hurt him. We’re only concerned for Kurt’s well-being. We wouldn’t want him to get into trouble again. I mean, he really has no other place to go.”

“I don’t think your opinion is needed on a family matter, Quinn.” Burt tersely said.

“Burt, honey, you know that Quinn is as good as family. She and Finn are such a wonderful couple.” Carole cooed. “Her opinion counts because she spends so much time here.”

“As good as family? Wasn’t Finn dating Rachel two weeks ago?” Burt growled. “Did someone forget to tell me that you guys were polygamists?”

“Burt!” Carole gasped shocked.

“Could we please just calm down and stop talking about this?” Kurt pleaded.

“I’m sorry dear. Is this too stressful for you?” Carole asked. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to do something that would push you over the edge and cause you to lash out.”

“Lashing out is such an ugly word, Mrs. Hummel. He can’t help that he is so obviously disturbed after all.” Quinn nicely said. “Maybe you should start locking Kurt in his room when he’s home. That way he could only hurt his things or himself. You have to think of protecting yourselves. I’ve seen this before. My mother is a doctor, you know. She’s dealt with the troubled like Kurt before. I’ve heard so many horror stories of unstable people just snapping and killing their whole families.”

“Oh, I know, sweetie.” Carole said, shaking her head. “But I don’t want you to worry about your safety when you come over to see Finn. We will do something one way or the other. You will be safe in our house, Quinn. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Yeah, don’t worry babe. I’ll protect you and Mom from Kurt,” Finn said around a mouthful of food.

“Enough! My son is not crazy. He is not going to snap and kill us all…so quit talking about him like he is or get the hell out of my house.” Burt glared. He was just frustrated and angry. Carole had no right to share Kurt’s private secrets with Finn and Quinn or talk about him like he was a mental patient.

“It’s okay, Dad.” Kurt said, his voice wavering. “I’ll just go to my room. I’m not really hungry, besides, I’d hate for my presence to terrorize Quinn and Carole any longer.” Rising, he stormed out of the kitchen, letting the door slam behind him.

 

Kurt threw himself on his bed and screamed into his pillow, his anger and frustration reaching new heights. Dinner had been yet another example of how he was still not welcome in his home because he refused to bow down and do what everyone else wanted him to do. He just wished that people he considered family and friends would see this from his point of view. They weren’t the ones attacked or the ones who’d spent two weeks in the hospital, gone through weeks of recovery, and were only just beginning to be able to interact normally with people. Everyone just seemed to conveniently forget that one little fact. Carole invading his privacy had been the final straw.

“Hey, can I come in?” Burt knocked on the door.

“Sure.” Kurt responded, sitting up and giving his full attention to his father.

“I’m sorry about dinner.” Burt apologized because even he was uncomfortable with Carole’s dinner and her attitude of late.

“It’s not your fault, Dad.” Kurt said with a shrug. Burt shook his head. 

“I can’t believe the way she’s acting. She’s not the woman I married. It’s like she’s completely forgotten how close the two of you were…that she used to call you her son, just like she did Finn.”

“So, I guess I shouldn’t expect her to make all my favorites next week?” Kurt asked with a sad smile.

“No, probably not.” Burt snorted, sitting down next to Kurt. “I’m sorry, kid.” 

“Dad.” Kurt said, giving his father a stern look.

“Alright! Alright.” Burt said, holding up his hands in surrender. “We’ll talk about something else. You said everything is going good at Dalton?” Burt was honestly curious about what his son’s life at school was like.

“Yeah.” Kurt said, giving his father a genuine smile. “It’s going well.”

“And you’ve been okay staying on campus?” Burt asked. He felt like he was missing out on so much of his son’s new life.

“Yes, Dad.” Kurt said, rolling his eyes. “I did miss coming home, but I understand if you don’t want me here while you try and smooth things over with Finn and Carole. If I’m going to be staying there all the time like this though, I should probably let the school know that I will be boarding then. I don’t want to keep taking a guest room if they have a permanent space for me.”

“You know I don’t want that, Kurt. I like having you here and while we’re definitely going through a rough patch, we are still a family and this is still your home. Don’t you ever doubt that.”

“I don’t, Dad. It’s just really hard for me to be here right now. Why can’t anyone see what happened from my point of view? I was the one who was attacked.” Kurt asked. “I mean, it’s not like anyone is telling Karofsky he needs to come and beg my forgiveness. Everyone has forgotten to see that I am the victim who was hurt and had to recover and change schools. No one is thinking about how much my life changed because of all this, and I just don’t understand why. Are they right? Is it my fault?”

“God, no! Don’t you ever, ever think that! I really don’t know why they can’t see things from your side. You just have to stay strong, kiddo.” Burt said. He wished he had a better answer than that, but he didn’t. He couldn’t even talk to his own wife and step-son without it becoming an all-out screaming match. 

“I’m trying, Dad.” Kurt answered. “My friends at Dalton and Dr. Coles have helped a lot.”

“How are your sessions with Dr. Coles?”

“Not bad. It’s nice to be able to talk to someone about everything without them already having an opinion or a dog in the fight.”

“I’m glad he’s able to help you.” Burt was grateful that his son had someone else that was working hard to restore his faith in the world. It had almost killed him to see Kurt retreat so badly after Karofsky’s attack.

“Me too.” Kurt admitted. It felt so good to know that he was getting better and doing better. Despite his horrible evening, Kurt was feeling happier and more secure than he had in a long time.

*****

Kurt managed to avoid further confrontations with either Carole or Finn by staying in his room all day Saturday and doing ‘cleaning’. In reality, he spent most of the day shopping online and texting with Blaine and Nick. Sunday morning, he decided he would be safe to venture out for breakfast. Surely they could all be polite for one meal. He couldn’t have been more wrong. 

“Mom, thanks for making my favorites this morning.” Finn said, shoveling in another forkful f biscuits and gravy.

“Kurt, aren’t you eating?” Carole sweetly asked.

“No, I think I’ll just have a muffin this morning.” Kurt answered politely. “If I eat too much heavy food in the morning, it makes me sick.”

“So my food is heavy and makes you sick?” Carole snapped. “I guess being at that school has given you an excuse to be rude.”

“I wasn’t trying to be rude, Carole, and I wasn’t saying your food is bad, just that I don’t want anything other than some coffee and a muffin.” Kurt answered. He was still so angry with her for violating his privacy and was trying really hard to be civil to his step-mother right now. It was taking all his effort not to snap at her.

“I think this attitude of yours is being caused by Dalton.” Carole stared at him. “We used to be such a loving family until you transferred to that school. Perhaps we should consider sending you back to McKinley.”

“I will not go back there.” Kurt angrily declared.

“And why not?” Carole yelled. “If it’s good enough for Finn, its good enough for you.”

“I was attacked there, Carole…nearly killed by someone who still attends school there and my former friends all blame me for it and think I should apologize. Why on earth would I want to go back?”

“Oh, get over it already, Kurt. Finn and your friends are just trying to make you see reason over the Karofsky situation. That poor boy was confused and didn’t have a guiding hand to help him navigate the change. We have to be the bigger people in this type of situation.”

“And where was all this sympathy for me when I spent two weeks in the hospital recovering?” Kurt snapped back. “How many of my so called friends and family were there for me? I’ll tell you how many, exactly one. My father was the one who spent eight hours with me for so many of those days. You weren’t there, Finn wasn’t there, and neither were my friends. You all but abandoned me when I needed you the most and now you’re upset because I can’t and won’t forgive a bastard like him.”

“I can’t believe you just talked to me like that.” Carole looked shell-shocked. “I thought you were raised better than that.” 

“Kurt has the right to speak his mind freely in his home, Carole.” Burt said from the doorway. He’d apparently walked in halfway through the conversation. “And I think it’s way past time that we listen to him.”

“And I have a right to speak my opinion in my house, too.” Carole yelled at her husband. She was pissed that he wasn’t supporting her.

“Yes, but we don’t yell and make unfounded accusations.” Burt was working hard to control his temper but he was getting angry. “Everyone gets to have a say, but each one of us in this house makes our own decisions.”

“Burt, you can’t seriously think that Kurt is in the right here?” Carole asked, looking at her husband. “Karofsky is a highly misguided boy who needs our support and forgiveness so he can move forward with his life. I heard from his mother at the grocery store that he is just stuck and can’t move forward until he is forgiven by Kurt. I think it’s important that we help ease the transition for him. This is a pivotal time in his life and we owe it to them to help. It really is the right thing to do.”

Kurt was livid as he listened to Carole speak. “You have to be kidding me. If you’re so concerned, why aren’t you telling his mother I need an apology so I can move forward in my life?”

“Kurt, you are fine. Quit being such a drama queen. Your situation is completely different than that poor boy. I was even thinking that I could invite the Karofsky’s over this afternoon and have a conversation.”

“No! Hell will freeze over before I will apologize to him, let alone welcome him into my home.” Kurt shouted loudly, shoving away from the table. 

“Kurt…”

“Carole, you are crossing a line here.” Burt said. “I think we just need to let this go. The Karofsky’s can deal with their own situation and we are not going to get involved. I think our concern should be with our family.”

“Burt, you are just not being reasonable.” Carole softly said. “I think it would be helpful…”

“I said no and so did Kurt, so just leave it alone.” Burt firmly answered, giving his wife a look daring her to continue.

“I can’t believe you are being so stubborn, Kurt. We are supposed to reach out and be the better people.” Carole shook her head. “I can’t even look at you right now.”

“I think I’m going to head back to Dalton today. I’m sure I can sleep over in one of the guest rooms there.”

“Now you sleep with vampires?” Finn looked horrified at the idea, as if Kurt didn’t spend all day with them at school.

“How is my sleeping at Dalton any different than making nice with Karofsky? They’re all vampires. And for the record, I am not sleeping with any of them. I have a private guest room away from the other guys.”

“Oh, so now they’re guys and Karofsky is crap? How are they any better than him?” Finn glared at the idea. He couldn’t believe Kurt was getting cozy with vampires when he still refused to have anything to do with the ones he’d known since childhood like Puck and Mike and Tina and Mercedes.

“They have never tried to force me into something I didn’t want; which is more than I can say for you and my attacker.” Kurt knew it was petty to throw it back in Finn’s face, but he was so hurt.

“Do you really have to call him an attacker?” Finn hissed. “It’s not like he completely knew what he was doing. And you’re just so you and he couldn’t take it anymore.”

“It was just not one moment of indiscretion, Finn. He tortured me for years before he attacked. I call him my attacker because that is what he is. That is what he will always be to me.”

“God, you are such a little whiney baby.” Finn snarled. “Go be with your vampire friends since you apparently want to be one.”

“Why are my friends from Dalton an issue when you think Karofsky is so wonderful? They are all vampires. You are such an unreasonable bastard, Finn. I hate you.” Kurt had finally lost his patience with his step-brother.

“Kurt!” Carole screamed, outraged by her step-son’s behavior. “You apologize to Finn right this minute or you will be grounded for a month.”

“I’ll apologize to him when he does me.” Kurt shot back. Carole narrowed her eyes.

“You’re grounded, young man.” Carole hissed.

“You can’t ground me if I’m not here, Carole, and you’re not my mom anyway!” Kurt yelled back. Even though he knew it wouldn’t get him anywhere, it still felt good to express his feelings and release all the pent up anger.

“I bet you’re sucking vampire…”

“Don’t you even finish that sentence, Finn Hudson.” Kurt screeched. 

Burt pounded his fist on the table, getting everyone’s attention. “I want everyone to shut up and listen. Finn, you will not talk to Kurt that way again. Finn, you go to your room right now. Kurt, you need to calm down and take a breath. I do not want to hear you talking like that to Carole again. I want you to go upstairs and get your things packed for school. Carole, we need to talk in our room now.”

Finn waited for Burt to leave, then shoved away from the table and looked at Kurt. “Blood whore.” He muttered, storming away and leaving a shaking, crying Kurt standing alone in the kitchen.

******

“Kurt…” Burt hovered in his son’s doorway as he watched him pack for what looked like the entire week. He certainly wasn’t surprised that Kurt didn’t want to stay in this house. Hell, even he didn’t want to stay in the house.

“Don’t Dad.” Kurt responded to his father’s unfinished sentence. “Please don’t try to tell me again that this is just a rough patch… that things will get better because they won’t. I think staying at Dalton for a while will be for the best.” Kurt answered, avoiding his father’s gaze.

“I don’t want to lose you over this son.” Burt said, his voice filled with emotion. Kurt sighed heavily.

“You won’t lose me, but if you want to see me before Christmas break, I think it would be best if you came to Westerville. Maybe if I stay away for a while, things will calm down.” He said.

“No, Kurt. I want you home.” Burt said.

“Daddy, please I can’t do this anymore. Please.” Kurt pleaded his eyes watery with tears he refused to shed. Burt studied his son for a moment before pulling him in for a tight hug.

“Alright.” Burt finally conceded. “But I’m coming up there for Friday dinners. Maybe I can even meet the rest of these friends of yours.”

“Thank you, Daddy. I love you.” Kurt said.

“Love you too, kiddo.”


	7. Chapter Seven

“Once a vampire finds the one they consider to be a potential mate they will pursue them with a single minded determination few other creatures possess. All of their considerable capacity for love and affection becomes focused on that one person. They will move heaven and earth to insure the happiness of their chosen one.”

-an excerpt from “The Vampire: Mythos and Truth” by Dr. Marvin J. Coles, PhD

 

Kurt couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when he pulled into the parking lot at school. Dalton had become such a comfort to him because it was the one place where he felt like he was completely accepted. No one judged him or made unfair accusations. He wasn’t sure when it had gone from his worst nightmare to his safe haven, but somewhere along the line, it had. He grinned when he walked into the practice room. The other guys were just there, hanging out. Kurt felt oddly relieved to see all his friends there, knowing he would have their support. Wes, who was in the middle of a heated video game with Thad, was the first to spot him.

“Kurt? What are you doing here on a Sunday?” Wes asked. “You never come this early on a weekend. What’s wrong…things getting worse at home?”

“What? I can’t just miss you guys?” Kurt asked. The way his voice broke with emotion belied his joking manner.

“Oh Kurt,” Blaine said sympathetically, carefully pulling the boy into a hug, the first any of them had dared to initiate with him. He was supremely pleased when the other boy didn’t flinch or pull out of the hug, something which he pushed aside for now, focusing instead on his concern for his friend. “What did they do to you now?” 

Fighting back tears, Kurt brokenly explained about his confrontation over breakfast, ending with the fact that Finn had called him a blood whore.

“He did what?” Blaine growled, his eyes taking on a faint reddish color. Wes put a calming hand on his shoulder.

“Easy Blaine.” Wes murmured.

“He thinks that I am sleeping with every vampire here.” Kurt tearfully admitted.

“That’s it! I will not allow them to treat him like this anymore!” Blaine snarled, moving towards the door, hissing and baring his fangs when Wes moved to intercept him. “Move Wesley!” Nick and Jeff quickly joined Wes at Blaine’s side.

“Blaine, get a hold of yourself right now. Kurt needs you more right now than you need to go to Lima and educate his brother.” Nick said soothingly. “Think about him right now. He’s the one that’s important.”

“How can someone who loves Kurt even think that about him?” Blaine asked Wes quietly. “I would never think that of Kurt or anyone else I loved.”

“Did he just say he loved me?” Kurt stuttered, eyes wide with shock.

“We all love you.” Nick quickly jumped in at the look of panic on Blaine’s face. He knew the other boy was not quite ready to admit his feelings.

“Maybe some time away from Lima will be good for you, Kurt.” Wes said, changing the subject. “You’re more than welcome to stay here whenever you need to and for as long as you need to.”

“Thanks guys. I’d already sort of decided that.”

“Yes! We get Kurtie all to ourselves! You can sleep in my bed.” Jeff winked at Kurt.

Blaine smacked Jeff on the back of the head, hard. “Ignore him. We’re pretty sure he was dropped on his head as a child.”

“Why are you getting so pissy, Blaine? That actually hurt this time.” Jeff rubbed the back of his head, but was still smirking at his friend. “Do you want him to sleep in your bed?”

Wes glared at both boys, who were clearly making Kurt uncomfortable if the deep blush and shifting of his body were any indication. “That’s enough, Jeffery. Unless you have a death wish, messing with Blaine right now is a bad idea. I think Kurt will be most comfortable in one of the guest rooms. Let’s get you settled in so you can at least decompress from your weekend.” Wes announced, guiding Kurt down the hall. “You know, we would never expect you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“I know, Wes, and I’m glad I have you guys in my corner.” Kurt was at least happy to be able to talk to some people who understood what he was dealing with and didn’t judge him.

“Although, if you’re planning on being a regular guest here, we should get you a dorm room upstairs with the rest of us so you don’t have to keep hauling your stuff back and forth from Lima.” Wes offered the suggestion, hoping that Kurt would seriously consider it for the upcoming semester.

“I have to talk to my Dad about that, but I will keep it in mind, Wes.” Kurt wondered what it would be like to live at Dalton and couldn’t help but think how happy he would be not to have to deal with Carole and Finn.

******

“He’s doing better,” Blaine said as he sat in the common room with Nick, Jeff, and Wes several days later. “I mean don’t you think he’s doing better Nick?” 

“Yes Blaine,” Nick said absentmindedly as he continued studying for his French exam. “But then I’ve told you that every day for the last four. Kurt seems much calmer and certainly less stressed now that he isn’t forced to deal with his brother and stepmother on a regular basis, although I think he does miss his dad.” Blaine frowned.

“I’m sorry. I know I seem like I’m being obsessive. I just wish we could do more to help him,” Blaine said.

“We all do, but I think the best we can do is what we are doing. Support his decisions and be there if he needs someone to talk to about things,” Nick patiently replied. Blaine nodded.

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Nick grinned. “Now help me conjugate these stupid verbs.”

“Okay,” Blaine responded. “Let me see what you’ve got.”

“Hrmm… ok… I think,” Blaine paused, putting down the book he was studying, he turned only to see Wes doing the same thing. A haunting melody was winding its way through the common room. The voice singing was high and clear and absolutely heartbreaking in its emotion and beauty.

“Who is that?” Blaine breathed in awe.

“More importantly, why isn’t he in the Warblers? That’s a countertenor. Do you know how rare those are? We would totally win regionals if we had a countertenor.” Wes remarked, his eyes brightening at the idea of winning a Regionals trophy. 

“I think we should investigate.” Jeff said, rising and not waiting for the others to follow. “A voice like that is one in a million. It should be treasured and nurtured and we are just the ones to do that.”

The Warblers followed the sound of the voice down the hall. They found themselves standing outside one of the guest rooms exchanging shocked glances. They all knew who was staying in this guest room and exactly who the voice must belong to.

“Did you guys know Kurt could sing?” Nick asked.

“Well, he was in the glee club at his old school, so I knew he sang, but he’s always been too shy to sing around us, even though he is technically a Warbler.” Blaine explained. “He’s been through so much, I figured it would be better if he focused on other things. I didn’t want to push him.”

“Tina did say he had an amazing voice, but she never told me he was a countertenor.” Wes replied, letting the haunting melody flow over him. Kurt was an amazing singer.

“I say we bust in there, corner him, and force him to join us.” Jeff said with a smirk.

Blaine smacked Jeff upside the head, again. 

“Freaking ouch, Blaine!”

“Are you nuts? We bust in there and Kurt will run screaming in the opposite direction. He barely trusts us as it is. We’re still making progress with him.”

“So, then how are we getting him to actually sing with us?” Nick asked.

Before anyone could answer, Kurt opened the door and stepped out, finding himself surrounded by happy vampires.

He couldn’t help the shriek that escaped from his lips. At the sound, Blaine shoved everyone back to give Kurt some breathing room. While they were making progress with the boy, he didn’t want Kurt to feel threatened in any way.

“What the hell? Why are you all standing outside my room? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Kurt demanded, giving them all a scathing look. “It’s usually polite to knock on a door instead of standing in wait for someone to leave a room, you know.”

“I think you are amazing, Kurt.” Jeff slipped past Wes and put an arm around Kurt. “We would be absolutely stunning together.”

“Um…thanks.” Kurt offered, still a little flustered and very much confused.

“No, really. Your singing is better than anything I’ve heard in an extremely long time. And I’m talking about a long time for a vampire. It’s a really long time.” Jeff excitedly declared.

“Oh, you heard me?” Kurt looked away, embarrassed. “I thought I was being quiet. I hope I didn’t bother anyone.” 

“You definitely weren’t bothering us, Kurt.” Wes reassured him, smiling almost manically. “You’re a countertenor. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It didn’t seem to matter at McKinley. I was just another backup singer for Rachel and Finn.” Kurt shrugged.

“I think we’ve already established the people at McKinley are idiots. I can promise that you won’t be just another backup singer with the Warblers. We fully intend to make use of your talent, if you want to sing with us, that is.” Wes firmly stated already going through his mental songbook to try and come up with a song that would match Kurt’s talent

Kurt looked around at the other boys. “Are you sure you want me to sing?”

“And a whole lot more.” Jeff gave Kurt a leering look. Before Blaine could smack him in the head again though, he ducked and stuck out his tongue taking off down the hall with Blaine in pursuit. Nick sighed.

“I’d better go save the idiot from Blaine. If you’ll excuse me,” he murmured following the others.

“I don’t want to pressure you into anything, Kurt, but we could really use your voice.” All Wes could do was put the offer out there. He didn’t want to put any more pressure on the boy than he already had in his life.

“Just let me think about it. Okay?” Kurt didn’t want to make any promises, but he missed singing… he missed performing and the release it brought so much. He didn’t want to seem like he was betraying New Directions if he actually sang with the Warblers, however, despite the fact that they seemed to have no problem betraying him by siding with Karofsky.

“Take as much time as you need, Kurt.” Wes said. “We’ll still be here for you, no matter what you decide.”

“Thanks Wes.” Kurt responded. A part of him couldn’t help but think that if this was New Directions, he would either be getting strong-armed into joining or sent off to a blood bank, never to be heard from again to ensure that he wasn’t outshining Rachel Berry. It was a nice change and definite point in favor of Kurt singing with the Warblers. It looked like he had some serious thinking to do. 

******

“I’m telling you… Pink. We sing Pink and we win,” Blaine insisted. Jeff rolled his eyes.

“You have an unnatural obsession with singing songs originally sung by women,” Jeff said. 

“I rock songs originally sang by female singers and you know it,” Blaine smirked.

“Totally beside the point,” Jeff insisted. “If you’d just…” 

“Kurt,” Blaine breathed interrupting Jeff’s rant as his sensitive ears picked up the familiar rhythm of Kurt’s heart.

At the lead soloist’s words, the boys all paused their discussion. Now that Blaine had pointed it out, they could all hear the human heartbeat on the other side of the door and collectively held their breath, so to speak. They knew they had to let Kurt make the first move. The door slowly swung inward and Kurt entered the room.

Blaine was the first to step forward, “Kurt! You came!”

“Yeah, so… um,” Kurt said nervously, biting his lip. “Were you guys serious about wanting me in the Warblers?”

“You’re already one of us, Kurt, but yes we want you to sing with us. You have a beautiful voice.” Blaine firmly said.

“Then I guess that’s what I’m doing. I’m here to sing.”

Smiling, Blaine took his hand and led him into the room. “That’s great Kurt. Now, you can help us pick songs. We need a reasonable voice,” Blaine said smiling and taking Kurt’s hand, pulling him into the room. He led Kurt to the settee sinking down next to him. “Wes wants to sing classics. He feels the judges will be more receptive to that. I, on the other hand, think that we need to shake things up… do something a little edgy…”

“You just want an excuse to pursue the latest in a long line of obsessions with female pop singers,” Wes said.

“Here we go again,” Nick muttered.

“Kurtiekins, you better come sit over here by me out of the crossfire,” Jeff grinned, patting the seat next to him.

“I’m fine where I’m at Jeff,” Kurt replied with a quick glance at Blaine who still, much to Kurt’s pleasure, had not let go of his hand. With a small, pleased smile, the lead Warbler turned to continue his argument with Wes, which Kurt happily joined in on.

******

“Well hello there Mr. Hummel, and how are you this fine Dalton evening?” Blaine said grinning as he flopped down on the couch in the common room. 

Since the Warbler meeting a few days earlier, he and Kurt had become somewhat inseparable. They walked to class together, studied together, watched movies together, listened to music, and sometimes just sat and talked. Kurt could never recall feeling so comfortable around another person and Blaine was beside himself with joy to the way their relationship was developing. Every instinct he had was telling him that Kurt was the one for him and Blaine was having to work very hard not to give in to those urges, because he knew Kurt still wasn’t quite ready for their relationship to go there yet. In the meantime, he was enjoying getting to know the human. Everything he was learning only serving to make him like Kurt more.

“I’m amazing, of course,” Kurt responded.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Blaine murmured huskily causing a beautiful blush to blossom on Kurt’s cheeks.

“Honestly Blaine, you have to quit saying things like that. I’m going to start believing them,” he replied.

“I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true Kurt. I like having you here during the week,” Blaine said earnestly.

“Oh, really?” Kurt asked, unable to resist the urge to flirt with the other Warbler.

“Mmhmm,” Blaine said his eyes becoming intense as he stared at Kurt. “Your skin is so soft and so warm.” He gently ran a hand down Kurt’s arm, thrilled at both the small shudder that passed through Kurt and the fact that the other boy didn’t pull away from his touch as he had when he’d first started at Dalton.

“Oh, you like me for my body heat?” Kurt teased; he never thought a vampire could make his heart beat faster in a good way.

“Just one of the many things I like about you, Kurt.” Unable to stop himself, Blaine started to slowly lean in towards Kurt, forcing himself to pull away at the last second. He could hear the boy’s heart hammering in his chest. Blaine was pretty sure it wasn’t from fear this time, and his eyes unconsciously slid down to Kurt’s lips.

“So,” said Kurt fighting down his blush. “Are you just here to bask in my warmth or did you need me for something?”

“Actually,” Blaine said. “I did have a reason for coming to find you. I just talked with Wes, Jeff, and Nick and we decided that our number for regionals is going to be a duet. I’m going to be half of the duet and I’d… we’d really like it if you would be my partner… for the duet, I mean.” 

Blaine was certain, if he was capable of it, he would have been blushing by the end of his speech. He’d been completely unable to look Kurt in the eyes throughout it and for some reason was unbelievably nervous about the whole thing. He finally forced himself to really look at Kurt though and was blown away by the pure raw emotion in his friend’s face.

“I… yes… I’d love to be your partner, Blaine…for the duet. I’m really honored. Thank you,” Kurt said his voice husky and raw and, to Blaine’s sensitive ears, incredibly sexy.

“No, thank you, Kurt. Your voice is going to win us regionals. Now come on, let’s go to the music room. We have some practicing to do.”

“This late?” Kurt asked. “Won’t we be bothering the others?”

“Kurt, the classrooms and offices here are sound-proofed for a reason.” 

“What? Why could you hear my singing if the rooms are sound-proofed?” Kurt asked.

“The guest rooms and dorms are not, just for security reasons.” Blaine answered. “But that’s not important. I want us to go practice for that duet. I want the two of us to blow everyone out of the water when we open our mouths.”

“You know it’s going to take a lot of practice to get it that perfect, right? We’ll be spending a lot of time together,” Kurt raised an eyebrow.

“I know. I’m sort of looking forward to it,” Blaine admitted, taking Kurt’s hand and leading him to the music room to practice.

********

If Kurt thought he had been attracted to Blaine before, it was nothing compared to how he felt about him now that they were spending so much time alone together practicing for their duet. Over the week, he’d gotten to know Blaine as more than just the steadying influence he tended to be on the other Warblers. He’d come to appreciate his quieter, more intellectual sense of humor, which was normally overshadowed by Jeff’s in your face crazy. They’d discovered they had a lot in common and spent hours together just talking about music, and books, and fashion and their dreams for the future. Kurt was a little shocked to see how alike they actually were. It made him so happy to know that he had someone to confide in, especially when he was in Westerville, so far away from his father. 

Although a part of him was dancing in excitement over the burgeoning relationship between he and the vampire prince, it also left him feeling conflicted. Kurt knew that vampires mated for life and if he were to pursue a serious relationship with Blaine, he would have to be turned at some point which was something he wasn’t sure he would ever be comfortable with. Still, there was just something about the other boy that Kurt found himself completely unable to resist.

“I will miss you this weekend.” Blaine said Friday afternoon as he walked Kurt to his car. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here?”

“Blaine, I would love to stay, but my dad specifically asked me to come home for Friday night dinner… to give it one more shot with Carole and Finn. I promised him I would be there. I can’t miss it.” Kurt said. “I’ll call you before I go to bed tonight though, and if Jeff starts getting on your nerves, you can text me.”

“I’m sure Jeff will be getting on my nerves. He always does.” Blaine answered, chuckling. “Promise me that you’ll drive safely and that you’ll let me know when you get home?”

“I always drive safely Blaine, and of course I’ll call, if you want me too,” Kurt said. He couldn’t help but blush at the thought that Blaine would be waiting for his call. He had certainly never experienced that before. “But surely you have more interesting and important things to do with your time than wait on me to call?”

“Nothing is more interesting or important to me than you Kurt,” Blaine murmured huskily. “I do have to go to this thing with my father tonight. I know it’s going to be boring.” 

“Why don’t you take Jeff with you if you’re afraid you’ll be bored? He’s nothing if not entertaining.” Kurt responded.

“Jeff and my father don’t mix well. Dad tends to think of Jeff as a necessary evil that he has to put up with. Besides, Wes and Tina will be there.”

“Oh… yes… I guess they would be, wouldn’t they? So is this a royal thing then?” He asked. Blaine nodded.

“More a Council thing than a royal thing. Either way, I have to be there, but at least I won’t be alone in my misery. Are you sure that you’ll be okay in Lima this weekend?” Blaine said.

“I’ll be fine. It’s not exactly my idea of a great time, but I’m sure I’ll survive it,” Kurt said. “Speaking of which, I should get going. I have a long drive back.”

“Be careful and I will see you bright and early on Monday morning.” Blaine gave a longing look as Kurt pulled out of the parking lot. He could admit that he was worried and wanted to keep tabs on the other boy. It was going to be a very tough, very long weekend for him, even if Kurt was trying to make light of it. He frowned in thought before pulling out his phone and send on off a quick text. With a small smile of satisfaction, he tucked his phone neatly away and turned to go back into the school.

*****

Hummel Tire and Lube….Saturday…..

“I think I might board at Dalton next semester.” Kurt said giving voice to an idea which had become more and more appealing to him, especially after the tense dinner the night before. While neither Carole nor Finn had been as blatantly offensive as they had been at the previous Friday night dinner Kurt had attended, neither had spoken one word beyond what was absolutely necessary either. This morning had been just as bad. The two Hummels had finally just snuck away to the garage on the premise of ordering supplies.

“Board at Dalton? Why are you wanting to do that?” Burt asked a frown on his face, immediately setting aside the inventory he had been working on.

“It would just be easier,” Kurt said with a shrug carefully avoiding his father’s gaze. He didn’t want his dad to feel like he was being forced to choose between his son and his wife. “I mean, homework there is a lot harder than at McKinley, and now that I’m actually singing with the Warblers, I’ll have practice so that will give me less time. If I board, I’ll have more time for both of those things, plus it would be nice to be able to see my friends more.” Burt sent his son a knowing look.

“Those your only reasons bud?”

“What other reason would I have?” Kurt asked. Burt sighed.

“I know things haven’t been great between you, Finn, and Carole lately, but…”

“They haven’t” Kurt conceded. “And I do think maybe a little cooling off time could be beneficial to us all.”

“You know that I won’t say no if this is what you really want Kurt, I just don’t want you to feel like you’re being chased out of your home,” Burt said. 

“I don’t, Dad. I know you and Carole are trying to work things out and it’s been difficult for the two of you,” Kurt said carefully. “I also know a lot of your fights are about me. Maybe if I stay at school for a while, you’ll be able to fix things.”

“Oh Kurt,” Burt sighed. “There are more issues between us than just you, and I would never push you out of my life just so things could be easier.” Burt had waited a long time to find Carole, but he loved his son and never wanted him to feel like he didn’t belong. Hell would have to freeze over before he would pick his second wife over Kurt.

“I know, Dad, but I think this is the best thing for all of us. I’m tired of the fighting and I really do feel safe and happy at Dalton,” Kurt reassured his father.

“Alright Kurt. You can board if that’s what you want to do. You’ll be home on weekends though, right?”

“Of course, I will Dad. You don’t have to worry about that.”

****

“Oh… You’re making dinner?” Carole said sourly when she entered the kitchen after coming home from work Saturday evening to find Kurt putting the finishing touches on dinner.

“Yes,” Kurt said sending his father a quick glance. He had promised his Dad that he would do his best to be polite. “I thought it would be nice for you to come home and not have to cook.”

“I really don’t like having people messing around in my kitchen,” Carole complained. “I have it organized just how I like it.”

“I’m sure Kurt didn’t mess up your kitchen, Carole. It smells delicious doesn’t it, dear?” Burt said giving his wife a pointed look.

“Mmmm,”Carole hummed non-committedly.

“What’re we having?” asked Finn who had just entered the kitchen and flopped down in a chair at the table.

“I made chicken cordon bleu, roasted chive and garlic fingerling potatoes, and a salad with radicchio and endive. I also made cannelloni with mascarpone cheese for desert,” Kurt said proudly. He loved to cook and share his passion for fine foods, even if a couple of people wouldn’t appreciate it. “I thought we all deserved a little treat.”

“But I wanted normal food for dinner,” Finn whined, eyeing the food on the plate Kurt had served him, but not really eating any of it.

“I’m sorry honey,” Carole apologized. “Kurt took over the kitchen. He had dinner done before I got home.”

“But Moooommm…”

“It’s okay, sweetie, if you really don’t want this, I’ll take you out to get something else.”

Kurt shrugged when his father sent him an apologetic look. Sometimes you really couldn’t win with some people. 

“Dad, I wanted to make sure that you’re planning on coming to regionals,” Kurt said looking at his father expectantly.

“Of course, I will be there, Kurt. I miss hearing you sing after…well, after it happened.” Burt answered.

“Good, because Blaine and I are singing a duet and I want you there to see me shine,” Kurt said, beaming with pride as he revealed why he wanted his father to be at the competition.

“You’re what?” Finn slammed down his silverware so hard that it bounced from the table to the floor while Carole slammed her glass down hard on the table, causing some of the liquid to slosh over the side and onto the tablecloth.

“I will be singing with the Warblers. They love my voice. In fact, Wesley said countertenors are very rare and anyone who didn’t fully utilize my talent was an idiot,” Kurt said as calmly as he could. He was so proud that someone had found his voice worthy and he’d wanted to share his joy with his family; hoping they would be happy for him. 

“Why would you even side the enemy?” Finn sneered, his face twisting into a hard look.

“What in the world are you talking about, Finn?” Kurt looked at his step-brother warily.

“The Warblers are our stiffest competition and you’re betraying New Directions.” Finn hissed.

“Oh, that’s rich.” Kurt snorted. “I think New Directions already betrayed me, Finn, so no, I have no loyalties to them.” Kurt could have kicked himself. He should have known Finn would take this as a personal insult.

“What have you told them about us?” Finn growled.

“I actually haven’t said anything about New Directions in a competition sense and they haven’t asked. We’re not as threatened by you as you are of us. So there’s no need to be worried as long as you guys are planning to bring it.” Kurt chirpily said. He wasn’t about to let Finn make him feel bad about one of the best things in his life right now.

“Don’t worry, Kurt, we will. Maybe you should be more worried about how you’ve betrayed everything you used to stand for.” Finn growled. He was furious that Kurt refused to see how he was abandoning people he’d known all his life for some stupid duet.

Kurt looked at Finn incredulously. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Burt waited for the explosion he knew was coming and ignored the cursing from his son. Finn rarely took being confronted well and he certainly didn’t disappoint.

“You are just a vampire toy, Kurt. They’re using you to make themselves look better… to make it look like they accept humans. When you lose at Regionals, they will be sucking you dry before you know it.” Finn smirked. “Maybe not though, since you’re probably just rolling over and letting them do that anyway. That’s the real reason you got a duet, isn’t it? It was payment for services rendered.”

“Shut the hell up Finn! I would never do something like that, and they would never expect me to. My friends at Dalton have honor. They care about me,” Kurt yelled back. “They’ve treated me better than you ever have. They’ve never called me a liar or treated me like I was less than human. They’ve respected me from day one which is more than you ever did. They are better than you in every possible way. They’re better singers and better dancers. They’re stronger and they’re smarter, not that it takes much. You’re not even worthy to polish their shoes! ”

With a growl, Finn launched himself over the kitchen table, pulling back his arm and making a fist. 

Eyes widening with fear, Kurt scrambled out of his chair. Since the incident with Karofsky, he had avoided confrontation at all costs…even going so far as to back down when he shouldn’t have. Seeing Finn’s hulking form advancing on him, brought back his attack with startling clarity and he could feel himself starting to panic. He would have probably fled in terror were it not for his Dad who shoved Finn into the wall and stepped in front of Kurt.

“No one is going to hit my kid in my house.” Burt thundered. 

“He started it! He betrayed us and wants everyone to be happy for him.” Finn glared, trying to get to Kurt unsuccessfully. “And he called me stupid!”

“He shouldn’t have done that, but you said some pretty awful things to him too, and he didn’t betray anyone, Finn. He had to start his entire life over because of what happened. Do you think it was easy for him to change everything? He didn’t want to have to do that. He was forced to do that and I think we should be supporting him as a family.” Burt lectured. 

“How can I support someone I’ve never considered family?” Finn indignantly blustered.

“Finn!” Carole exclaimed. As much as she had issues right now with the whole situation, she knew to keep it to herself. After all, there was a right time and place for such matters and the dinner table wasn’t it.

“What? It’s true. We may be related by marriage, but Kurt means nothing to me.” He insisted undeterred by his mother’s admonishment. Their lives had gotten harder since Carole and Burt’s marriage and if she refused to see that, it wasn’t his fault. He was tired of it and thought it was time for the truth to come out right here, right now.

“I see, well that explains a lot actually,” Kurt said softly, his eyes luminous with tears he refused to shed. “I think, since I’m not family, it’s best if I just excuse myself.” He fled the room before anyone could stop him.

He needed to get away from the house. He couldn’t stay there any longer with all of the hate coming from Finn and Carole. He got out his bag and began to blindly throw things in it. He was almost done when his father entered the room without bothering to knock. 

“We’ve had this discussion before, Dad. I love you, but I just can’t stay here, not right now.” Kurt said, even if it did feel like giving up in some ways.

“I don’t know what to do to fix this, Kurt. I will be having a serious conversation with Finn and Carole about what happened tonight, though.” Burt didn’t know what else to say to his son. There wasn’t anything he could do to make things better and that hurt him deeply as Kurt’s father.

“Don’t bother. It won’t change anything or the way they feel about me.” Kurt softly said.

“I am sorry.” Burt felt like it was his fault for what had happened.

“I know you are, Dad,” Kurt responded, smiling sadly. “I will text you when I get back to school.” 

“Kurt, please don’t leave when you’re this upset,” Burt pleaded.

“I’ll be fine, Dad. I’ll schedule an emergency session with Dr. Coles tomorrow. He lets me talk and vent and gives me good suggestions for dealing with things.” Kurt assured his father.

“God Kurt,” Burt said completely in shock at how quickly things had fallen apart. 

“I’ll see you at Christmas. Hopefully we’ll have all calmed down by then. I love you Dad,” Kurt said before giving his father a hug, grabbing his bag, and leaving his room.

****

Kurt couldn’t help but note with a curious sort of detachment, considering the traumatic evening he’d had, that it was weird to be at Dalton on a Saturday night. Weird didn’t even really cover the sight that met him when he walked into the Common Room, however. It was like he had stumbled into a whole different Dalton than the one he knew. 

The room was more alive than Kurt had ever seen it. The boys were smiling and laughing and happy. Wes and Thad were taking shots of something. Kurt had no idea what it was, but he was pretty sure that he really didn’t want to know either. Jeff was dancing in the middle of the room, shaking his booty to the music which was being provided by some sort of karaoke contest Blaine and Nick seemed to be having. The other Warblers that Kurt recognized from his classes were dancing, talking, and drinking in various spots in the room. There were even two boys trying to swallow each other’s tongues in a darkened corner.

Kurt knew they had figured out he was present when Blaine stopped singing mid song and jumped down off the stage, making a bee line for him. Everyone else’s heads turned with questions on the tip of their tongues, Kurt fought not to turn and run as he became the focus of so many vampires at once. He had been doing so much better lately, but his nerves were completely raw after his confrontation with Finn.

“Kurt, what are you doing here on a Saturday night? Are you okay?” Blaine asked, his hazel eyes alight with concern.

“I … I’m not sure. I kinda needed a place to sleep tonight. Is it ok for me to stay here? I know we don’t have class until Monday, but if it’s an issue or the guest rooms are full and then I can just find a hotel room or something.” He was trying for nonchalance but his voice came out sounding frail and broken even to him.

“If they are, you can have a place in my bed.” Jeff his normally flirty tone replaced by concern as he exchanged a look with Blaine. “I’ll bunk with one of the other guys.”

“I thought you were at home this weekend.” Wes said cautiously.

“Home is not a good place to be right now.” Kurt answered, his voice breaking.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really. I think I just need to wind down.” Kurt said, desperately trying to hold it together long enough to get away from everyone. He didn’t want to fall apart in front of them yet again. “So…about that room?”

“I know the room you usually take is empty, Kurt.” Wes answered, not bothering to tell Kurt that the room had been officially dubbed his and no one would ever be using that room except for him.

“Thanks guys. You can go ahead and finish your party and I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Kurt replied, turning to leave the room feeling bad that he’d interrupted them.

“Kurt, wait! Why don’t you stay and join us?” Nick suggested. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to be alone anyway.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m just not in the mood for a party tonight. Maybe next time. Good night guys” He responded, turning and leaving a roomful of worried vampires in his wake. 

*****

Sunday morning found Kurt strolling in the Dalton gardens completely lost in his own thoughts. As much as he loved the guys, he just needed a little time for himself to process everything that had happened at home and the secluded gardens were perfect for that. He couldn’t believe how badly Finn had reacted over something so simple. It really made him question whatever bond he thought he’d ever had with his step-brother. It made him question a lot of things. He’d never felt so alone. He sunk down on a bench in one of the garden’s many grotto’s and stared up at the sky as if the answers to his problems were written somewhere in the clouds. That is where a worried Blaine found him a couple of hours later.

“Hi.” Blaine smiled at the boy in front of him. “Is this seat taken?”

“For you? Never,” Kurt answered scooting over and giving Blaine a half-hearted smile. “I’m sort of surprised to see you up and about. I thought you’d all be recovering from last night. It was quite a party.”

“It was tame by Warbler standards.”

“That was tame?” Kurt raised an eyebrow. Chuckling, Blaine pulled Kurt up to walk with him, tucking Kurt’s hand in the crook of his elbow as they strolled. 

“So, are we going to talk about what sent you back to school on a weekend, especially when I knew you were looking forward to going home to see your dad?” Blaine broached the tense subject.

“Finn tried to punch me at the table.” Kurt said swiftly, hoping that, like ripping off a Band-Aid, it would hurt less if he did it quickly. He knew that they had drifted pretty far apart, but he’d never thought Finn would be capable of such a thing and at the dinner table in front of their parents.

“He did what?” Blaine barely restrained himself from snarling. He had never wanted to rip someone’s head off more right now than he wanted to do to Finn Hudson. 

Kurt couldn’t help but notice that Blaine’s eyes took on a reddish hue, a sure sign of his anger. At least someone other than his father cared about him and it was a nice feeling to know that these vampires were worried about him.

“He said that I was betraying New Directions by singing a duet with you and joining the Warblers.” Kurt softly admitted out loud. He couldn’t help but think that saying it made it seem like it was true and it hurt.

“Do you feel like that?” Blaine cautiously asked, worried that Kurt would say yes. Kurt paused for a moment, thinking.

“No…no, I don’t. Finn is just an ass. Everything is about him lately. I mean, I was the one who had to leave the house when he attacked me. Although I guess it was probably for the best, because if he had opened his mouth one more time, and I’m sure he would have, I probably would have been the one punching him.” Kurt answered. “He is not taking this away from me or making me feel guilty about it, though. I love to sing and now I can do that again because of the Warblers and Dalton.”

“I‘m sorry that things are so rough for you at home right now, but you know, we all care about you very much here and we are glad you are a part of the Warblers. I know that you said before you couldn’t leave your Dad, but maybe you should consider boarding at Dalton for next semester.” Blaine suggested, thinking it would be good for the young man and genuinely concerned for his safety. “There’s always room available as students transfer or move.”

“I am doing more than considering it, but I haven’t made a decision yet.” Kurt answered. It had been in the back of his mind for a while what happened this weekend just seemed to solidify it for him however.

“Really?” Blaine said unable to completely mask the excitement in his voice. “We would love for you to stay here during the week. We have so much fun after school hours, and, selfishly, I’d really like to be able to spend more time with you.” 

“I’d like to spend more time with you too Blaine,” Kurt blushingly admitted. “I’m just worried that me being here will cause you guys to change your lifestyles. None of you should have to hide who you are because I have some hang-ups.” 

“I think we can successfully manage our lifestyles, Kurt, with you on campus.” Blaine answered. “I was kidding about our parties. We don’t do anything that crazy. What you saw last night was as wild as it gets, unless you’re Jeff. We try not to think about what he does.”

“That’s not what I was talking about, Blaine.” Kurt replied. “I was talking about your dietary needs. I mean, I don’t want to be mistaken for dinner some night.”

“Kurt, you would never be mistaken as dinner, ever. Trust me on that.” Blaine firmly replied.

“Are you saying that my blood would not be appetizing?” Kurt asked.

“Are you really getting offended by this?” Blaine asked.

“Yes, I am.” Kurt retorted.

“Kurt, we would never force you into anything you weren’t willing to do.” Blaine answered. “Feeding from someone is a very intimate thing for a vampire. It’s like humans and sex. I personally am only willing to feed from someone with whom I have serious intentions with. Others, like Jeff, are willing to feed from multiple people and don’t want to have strong ties to them. None of us would ever force you to let us feed from you. It would be like rape.”

“Oh. I never saw it like that.” Kurt answered, thinking back to that awful time in his life and wondering if he would ever be able to completely put it behind him.

“Now you can understand why we find Karofsky so abhorrent. We work hard to maintain our relationships with those we feed from. It is such a delicate tie that we have to work to maintain.” Blaine answered, wondering why no one else had ever explained these things to Kurt. He had assumed his former vampire friends would have at least shared a few secrets if they were truly friends.

“Have you ever fed directly from a human?” Kurt asked with baited breath.

“No, I haven’t.” Blaine answered, looking intently at Kurt. “I’ve been waiting for the right person to come along.”

“Oh.” Kurt said softly. Blaine shifted awkwardly as if realizing that he had revealed too much.

“Would you like to walk by the lake?” Blaine asked.

“No. It looks like it’s going to start raining soon and I do have some homework that I need to finish.” Kurt remarked, looking at the darkening sky. He did not need to catch pneumonia on top of everything else right now.

“Oh… ok I understand,” Blaine said looking downcast.

“I could use a study partner though,” Kurt offered. “If you’re interested…”

“I’d love too.” Blaine responded following Kurt back to the school.


	8. Chapter Eight

“As long as there have been Chiefs of the House of Draculesti, there have been Seconds to protect them. When Vladimir Tepes was turned, amongst his first acts was to turn his most favored general, Johan Renveld. It was Renveld who formed the House Guard to protect his Dark Prince, earning him the rank of Second to the Chief. It is his descendants who have filled this position with each succeeding generation.”

-an excerpt from “The Draculesti” by Douglas Tepes Anderson

 

Nick saw Kurt coming out of the Headmaster’s Office the next Monday morning. He rushed to catch up with him, putting a companionable arm around his shoulder and hoping it was nothing bad.

“Why Kurt Elizabeth Hummel and here I thought you were a model student like me and I catch you coming out of the Headmaster’s office! Not in trouble I hope?”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Jeff. You’re starting to sound like him,” Kurt said rolling his eyes. “And no… I’m not in trouble. I was talking to him about next semester. I’ve decided to board here.”

“Really?” Nick excitedly asked. “That’s amazing! I’ll finally have someone sane around here besides myself. We can have movie nights!”

“School work has to come first, Nick.” Kurt answered.

“But Kurt, I have someone to side with me against the Harry Potter contingent. If Blaine and Jeff get their way, that’s all we watch. It’s a great series of movies, but watching the whole thing fifty times is enough.” Nick bounced up and down, almost like Tigger.

Kurt giggled. “Agreed. Now, Star Wars, on the other hand…”

“I think I’m in love with you. Marry me?” Nick smiled widely, his fangs just peeking out.

“Oh, Nick, you sweet, little innocent boy. You could never handle me.”

Nick laughed, thrilled to see Kurt comfortable enough around him that he could joke about that. “True… but I know who could,” he said in a sing song voice as he spotted Blaine and Wes walking towards them. Kurt smacked his friend on the arm blushing just as the others reached them.

“Hey guys. What are we talking about?”

“Movie night.” Nick replied innocently.

“Give it up Nick. You know we’ll end up watching Potter. Jeff and I always get our way,” Blaine grinned his fangs showing. “So…. I hear Dalton is getting a new boarder. Have you gotten your room assignment yet?”

“How did you know about that? The only person I’ve told is Nick and I literally just told him!” Kurt exclaimed. Blaine shrugged.

“Good news travels fast.” He answered. “A new boarder always gets the gossip mill going and you are a very popular student around here.”

“Plus I might possibly have overheard you guys when I passed you in the hall a second ago and told him,” Wes added. “So where are you rooming?”

“I don’t know yet. They had to see what was available for me. And, since it’s the last day before semester break, I won’t know until we come back,” Kurt answered, hoping that he would be rooming with one of the Warblers.

“Oh… I see. Well hopefully you get someone you’ll be comfortable with,” Wes said smiling slightly to himself, the beginnings of a plan forming in his head. He knew the perfect roommate for Kurt, and he had the power to make sure that’s who was assigned to him. Sometimes it was good to be a prince, and this was one of those times. After all, Jeff and Nick weren’t the only ones who could play matchmaker at Dalton Academy.

*****

The mid-winter holidays had never seemed so long to Blaine and the rest of the Warblers who were all spending it together at the Anderson Estate. They honestly missed Kurt’s presence and were worried about his family situation, especially in light of the revelation that Finn was apparently making their confrontations physical now. When you added in the fact that Karofsky was still running amuck, their concerns for their friend were doubly justified. While they were all worried about Kurt, Nick, Jeff, and Wes’ concern for Blaine was almost as bad. Once Kurt left for break, the young prince became moody and sullen, snapping at everyone, even Nick, who was normally safe from Blaine’s wrath. It got so bad, that Blaine’s father finally suggested, in what was basically a royal command, that they all go for a road trip to Lima to see Kurt. Blaine’s mood brightened almost immediately.

“Are you sure this is where Kurt lives?” Jeff asked as they got out of the car at the address Puck had given them. “It’s so… small. Four people can’t possibly live here.”

“Not everyone has the kind of money your fathers do Jeff,” Nick reminded them. “Now come on let’s go! Blaine is already at the door! ” He grabbed Jeff and Wes practically dragging them to catch up with Blaine who was briskly knocking on the door as they arrived. A tall, somewhat gangly youth with a partially eaten sandwich in his hand answered the door. This, based on Kurt’s descriptions could only be Finn.

“Yeah? Can I help you?” He mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich.

“Is Kurt home?” Wes asked as politely as he could manage because Blaine was too busy glaring at the large human whom they all knew he would have quite cheerfully ripped to shreds for all he had done to Kurt if his claim to their friend had been solidified yet.

“Depends… who are you?” Finn rudely asked, wanting to slam the door shut but not doing so since his mother was home and she would jump down his throat for being rude.

“We’re his friends from school.” Jeff said. His mouth settled into a decidedly evil smirk which immediately set off alarm bells in Nick’s head. They needed to get Kurt and get out because Jeff had decided to play, and that never, ever ended well. “And who would you be, sweetheart?”

“I’m Finn, Kurt’s step-brother.” Finn sharply answered. “I don’t think Kurt has vampire friends. In fact, I know he doesn’t. He’s more scared of you guys than he is his own shadow. Why don’t you go back to your fancy little prep school?”

“I suppose we could do that, or we could visit with you instead.” Jeff flirted running one elegant finger down the startled boy’s chest and pushing him backwards and following him in the door. “You’re just one tall drink of blood, aren’t you, big boy. I bet you taste amazing,” He batted his long dark lashes at Finn and slowly licked his long pointed fangs. The taller boy backed hastily away, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

“Kurt? Kurt, get out here now!” Finn shouted loudly, his face almost comically panic stricken. Kurt stormed into the room wearing an apron and carrying a cookie dough covered spoon his eyes flashing with annoyance. Blaine‘s attention was immediately riveted. 

“What is it now, Frankenteen? I’m trying to bake here.” Kurt snapped, glaring up at his stepbrother.

”You have company,” Finn squeaked all but shoving Kurt at the group of vampires, seemingly afraid for his own safety. Kurt’s puzzled frown immediately turned to a smile of pure delight.

“Guys! What are you doing here?” he exclaimed.

“We came to visit you silly,” Blaine said smiling widely.

“It’s ok Finn, these are some friends of mine from school,” Kurt said over his shoulder to his stepbrother who was hovering nervously nearby. That seemed to be all the confirmation Finn needed to send him scurrying up the stairs to his room.

“See ya later, hot stuff.” Jeff called with a wink.

“Really Jeffery? I thought you had better taste than that.” Kurt shook his head disapprovingly. 

“Oh I do, but I have to get my kicks somewhere and making Finn squirm is so much fun. Which door is his room?”

“Knock it off. You know he’s going to tell Carole and then I will be in trouble with my step-mother, which I the last thing I need. I already get in trouble with her for just walking in the door. I’d rather not add fuel to the fire.” Kurt sighed.

“I’m sorry, but he was too easy of a target and someone really should teach him about manners and respect.” Jeff said, honestly feeling bad that he would be adding to Kurt’s family drama.

“That’s rich, coming from you, Jeff.” Wes snorted. “Right Blaine?” He turned to his cousin only to discover that Blaine and Kurt were standing inches apart their attention completely riveted on each other.

“Hi Kurt. I’ve missed you,” Blaine breathed.

“Hi Blaine. I’ve missed you too,” Kurt admitted, blushing. The awkward silence which encompassed the Hummel living room, went completely unnoticed by Kurt and Blaine because they were too busy staring into each other’s eyes.

“And we’ve lost them,” Jeff murmured. 

“Shut up Jeff,” Nick said. “It’s sweet. I wish I had something like that.” Wes rolled his eyes. How he had ended up with such utterly clueless friends, he had no idea. It was times like this that he really missed David, whose father had moved them to England when he got the British Ambassador position for the Council.

“Not that I’m not enjoying watching you two make googly eyes at each other, but we came to visit.” Wes said, finally breaking the silence and causing Blaine to step back away from Kurt and look around the room before his eyes landed back on Kurt.

“It’s nice to see everyone, but what are you doing here?” Kurt asked, surprised to see them. He would have figured that they would have had better things to do with their time than come see him in Lima.

“We thought you could use a break and would like to go shopping with us.” Nick jovially said. “I’ve never shopped in Lima before. I’m trying to branch out and expand my horizons.”

“Really? You guys want to shop in Lima? The stores in Westerville are so much nicer.” Kurt answered.

“We’ve been banned from the Gap there and I need some new jeans.” Jeff grinned, earning himself another slap in the head from Blaine, although Kurt wasn’t sure what for this time.

“I don’t shop at the Gap.” Kurt said, rolling his eyes. “I have much better taste than that.”

“I don’t shop there either.” Blaine said, glaring at Jeff.

“Not anymore.” Jeff said in a sing song voice.

“I sense a story here I don’t know about.” Kurt was intrigued by that. He enjoyed getting to know his friends outside of school.

“And you never will.” Blaine answered. “So, do you want to get out of the house and go with us?”

“Of course I do. Just let me tell my Dad where I’m going.” Kurt said, sprinting out of the living room and into the kitchen where his father was.

Carole walked into the living room, carrying a basket of laundry when she stopped because there were four vampires acting like they were perfectly at home in her living room. There was even one with his feet on her new glass coffee table.

“Oh, can I help you gentlemen?” She was nothing if not polite.

“No, thanks wench. Your master already helped us.” Jeff quickly answered, realizing he could have a little fun with Kurt’s hateful step-mother.

“Excuse me?” Carole stared at the boys.

“Oh, yeah, sorry, you’re excused. We don’t need anything.” Wes haughtily replied quickly catching on and deciding to play along. He gave her his most imperious wave of dismissal before casually studying his fingernails as if she were of absolutely no consequence to him.

“What?” Carole spluttered. She couldn’t believe that they thought she was the help. How dare these vampires come into her home and act like they were better than her!

Wes looked at Jeff. “Kurt really needs to hire more intelligent help. I mean, if this is the best they can get in Lima, this is a really awful town. Perhaps he should look in Westerville for new household help. I’m sure we could help him find someone.”

“I am not the help.” Carole sharply retorted.

“You’re not?” Jeff said feigning shock.

“Exactly who are you then?” Wes politely inquired. “I’m sure you can understand my confusion. Just look at what you are wearing.”

Carole looked like she was ready to stake them all when Kurt sashayed back into the room with his jacket and a smile on his face.

“Carole, I see you’ve met my friends from Dalton.”

“These people are your friends?” She was horrified that her step-son was socializing with these holier-than-thou vampires with superior attitudes.

“Oh this is your stepmother Kurt? She’s exactly as charming as you’ve described her,” Jeff said innocently. Kurt sent Jeff a warning glare and understood suddenly exactly why Blaine was always smacking the boy in the back of his head.

“Yes Carole these are my friends, although I sometimes wonder why,” Kurt said with a pointed look at Jeff. “We’re going shopping. I will be back later.”

“Much, much later.” Jeff answered with a smirk and a wink. “But I will definitely be back. Hopefully that sexy son of yours will answer the door again. I’d love to spend some quality time getting to know him better.”

Carole scrambled to block the stairs as if she had a chance of stopping any of the vampires if they really had even a remote interest in Finn. Kurt managed to stifle his laughter until they were outside.

“Did you really have to do that? I am never going to hear the end of it,” Kurt said his eyes twinkling as a giggle escaped his lips. “The look on her face was priceless though.”

“I couldn’t resist, Kurt.” Jeff answered. “And you think the look on her face was good, you should have seen Finn’s when I started putting the moves on him.”

“The lecture I’m going to get just might be worth it this time,” Kurt smirked.

“We didn’t think about that, Kurt, and we are sorry.” Wes apologized, shooting Jeff a look. They certainly didn’t want to add any stress to Kurt’s already stressful family situation.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s plan our shopping trip.” Kurt refused to dwell on his family. He wanted to spend his time thinking about the fun he was going to have with his friends at the mall.

****

The Lima Mall was not exactly a bustling hub of the fashion industry, although Kurt was an expert at finding the little bits and pieces of couture they did have and making the most of them. He was afraid the boys would find it boring, but they seemed genuinely interested in seeing what Kurt’s hometown had to offer. As they pulled into the mall parking lot, Kurt was shocked to see a familiar figure leaning against his battered truck waiting on them. He was even more shocked when they parked next to him and he immediately seemed to snap to attention, opening the door to let Blaine out.

“Hello your highness. Good to see you. I thought your father told you to wait for me at Kurt’s house. Luckily, I knew a short cut and still managed to beat you here. Wouldn’t want the heir wandering around in public completely unprotected.” Puck drawled. Blaine sighed.

“I’m going shopping in Lima Noah. It’s hardly a dangerous undertaking. I don’t think I need my bodyguard for it,” he complained.

“Tell that to Porcelain . He’s come home from here battered and bruised on more than one occasion. Now quit busting my balls dude and let me do my job already,” Puck snapped, sounding much more like the boy Kurt was familiar with.

“Puck, I missed you!” Jeff shouted hopping out of the car and fist bumping the McKinley vampire.

“Jeff! Dude! How the hell are you still enrolled?” Puck asked.

“My daddy has better connections.” Jeff smoothly answered.

“Spoiled preppy boy,” Puck smirked.

“At least I’m not sporting that ridiculous looking hamster on my head,” Jeff said grinning.

“Hey don’t insult the ‘hawk man. Especially when you look like someone spilled an entire bottle of peroxide on your hair,” Puck retorted. “You’re a vampire Sterling, not a beach boy.”

“I don’t know. I think it looks good on him,” Nick said. Kurt was shocked when Puck’s face immediately gentled in the way Kurt had previously only seen it do in his presence. He was even more shocked when Puck immediately enveloped Nick in a hug.

“Hey Nick. You still doing ok?” 

“I’m better than ok Noah. I’m actually really, really good. I’ve missed seeing you every day. We all have. The summers and holidays at Blaine’s are not nearly enough time with the Puckasaurus,” Nick responded smiling.

“Speak for yourself,” Wes added assuming a haughty expression, although Kurt could sense no rancor behind the words.” I see you’re still as rebellious as usual Puckerman.” 

“And I see you still have the giant stick up your ass.” Puck grinned.

“Wait a minute you guys all know each other?” Kurt demanded unable to contain himself any longer. Puck chuckled.

“Yeah Porcelain. I used to be a Warbler until I got kicked out in the middle of freshman year for violating the zero tolerance policy,” Puck shrugged. Nick frowned.

“You mean for protecting me. You never should have been expelled. Those guys’ parents bought your expulsion with a hefty donation to the Dalton Alumni Association,” he growled.

“Water under the bridge man, besides it has only enhanced my badass rep,” Puck said.

“Please Puckerman, I’ve known you since we were born. That expulsion hurt. You may be all scary badass on the outside, but you’re just a big marshmallow on the inside,” Blaine said.

“A marshmallow that could kick your ass if it wasn’t my solemn duty to protect it,” Puck pointed out.

“Ok, now I’m lost again,” Kurt said throwing up his hands. Blaine chuckled.

“Sorry Kurt. You’re so much a part of us that we sometimes forget you haven’t always been around. Puck is a member of the House Guard of the Draculesti, more specifically my personal guard… my Second. He has been trained to protect me pretty much since we were born, just like his father protects mine.”

“Then why are you at McKinley?” Kurt asked. Puck shrugged. “Isn’t it sort of hard to protect Blaine from there?”

“I got kicked out and had to go somewhere. My dad thought McKinley would be a good chance for me to learn about humans and to practice blending in.” 

“Oh yeah you’ve really blended in Puck,” Kurt snorted. 

“Did you ever suspect I was a deadly fighter trained to protect a prince with my life if necessary or that I got straight A’s in French at Dalton?” Puck asked.

“Well no but… I tutored you in French Puck. You were horrible,” Kurt sputtered. Puck grinned.

“It’s called hiding in plain sight Kurt,” Puck quickly rattled off in flawless French. Kurt felt his jaw drop. Chuckling, Jeff reached out and closed it.

“Enough of Puck’s awesomeness already I’m starting to wilt from lack of attention. I thought we were here to shop,” he whined.

“Very true Jeffrey,” Blaine agreed. “Kurt, lead on.” Still shaking his head in bemusement, Kurt led them through the doors of the mall.

“Well…This is it.” Kurt said.

“This is what you are expected to work with?” Nick was horrified. “I mean, this is just bad.”

“Lima is not exactly what we consider a metropolis of fashion forward people.” Kurt answered. “Unless you’re into flannel and trucker hats.”

“I’m sure we can find something here that we can’t find in Westerville.” Blaine said diplomatically.

An hour and several stores later, Blaine was starting to think he’d been wrong. Kurt shook his head as the group exited yet another store and there had been no purchases made by anyone.

“How do you stand it only having this rinky dink mall to shop in?” Jeff disgustedly sighed.

“That’s why I tend to shop online. You can get anything on the computer.” Kurt said. “My relationship with UPS and FedEx is excellent.”

“Kurt, Kurt, Kurt.” Nick laughed. “You really need to expand your horizons. If we win at Regionals and make it to New York, I fully intend to make sure you have a tour of my favorite stores there. You would lose your mind.”

“I am sure I would probably lose my mind being surrounded by decent options and quality.” Kurt laughed. “My father’s credit card would probably do the same.”

“Well fuck,” Puck muttered. “Don’t look now but we’ve got company. They were supposed to be going to the movies. Sorry man. I’d have warned you off if I’d known.”

“It’s ok Puck. I can handle them,” Kurt reassured him .He stopped and turned around. The rest of the guys turned at the same time and exchanged looks.

“Well, Kurt. What are you doing here?” Rachel asked as condescendingly as possible. “And with Puckerman. You better not be giving them our set list Puck!”

“Yeah ‘cause that’d be hard to guess… solos by Rachel and Finn while the rest of us dance in the background. Oh no Rachel! I’ve spilled state secrets! You wanna spank me?”

Before she could respond, Jeff sidled up taking her hand and kissing it ,”Pardon my rude friend mademoiselle, clearly he has no breeding. I’m Lord Jeffrey Sterling and just who might you be gorgeous?” 

“I’m Rachel Berry, lead singer of the New Directions” Rachel breathily answered clearly charmed.

“Nude Erections?” Jeff asked, unable to help himself. “I like the sound of that, sugar.”

“No, New Directions from McKinley High School.” Rachel scowled, her face twisting going from flirty to angry in seconds.

“Give it up Jeff. Unless I’ve lost track she’s Finn’s flavor of the week,” Kurt said in a stage whisper.

“I am not a flavor of the week Kurt Elizabeth Hummel. Finn and I have a deep and abiding love and I fully intend to tell him that you bothered us at the mall when we were minding our own business.” Rachel screeched stomping her foot.

“Wait a minute…you’re dating that tall hunk of real man.” Jeff purred stepping firmly into Rachel’s personal space causing her eyes to widen and her breath to quicken. He figured a little payback was in order for the way that she treated Kurt on a regular basis.

“You’ve met my boyfriend, Finn?” Rachel stuttered.

“Honey, I have never met such a delectable human, after Kurt, of course.” Jeff winked at the boy in question, giving him a full smile, fangs on display. “And Miss Berry, you’re not that bad yourself. I am always available for new experiences if you and your boyfriend are interested.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Rachel shouted. “How dare you insult me like that? I will have you know that my two dads are active in the community and I will report your behavior to them.”

“Honey, it wasn’t an insult.” Jeff eyed her up and down, making sure she saw his eyes on her. “Opportunities just have a way of coming to me.”

“You… you’re just… just sick! Noah I think perhaps you should reconsider who you’re spending time with,” the tiny girl spluttered.

“Oh believe me, I am,” Puck murmured.

“Perhaps you should as well Kurt. As unstable as you are, I’m sure that you’re leading these boys on like you did Karofsky.” Quinn said her tone of voice sweet but her eyes icy cold. “I hope you know what you’re doing because they don’t look like they’d let you off as gently as poor Dave did.” 

Kurt froze at the mention of Karofsky his face going pale. Suddenly he felt himself enveloped in a protective embrace as Blaine nuzzled lovingly at his neck.

“Oh don’t worry that is not an issue. Kurt is everything I could possibly want or desire. Right love?” he purred pressing a lingering kissing on his pulse point. Kurt shivered and barely stifled a moan. He’d never felt anything so amazing and certainly never expected to in a mall in Lima, OH.

“I thought you would have been thinking of ways to fix your problems rather than creating a whole new set, Kurt.” Mercedes finally chimed into the conversation. “You can’t just keep digging yourself into a hole. You will have to deal with the messes you’re making, Kurt. We just want to help you avoid any more problems. And you boys should be ashamed of yourself letting poor Kurt think he matters. I know the heirs of the council attend Dalton. What would they say about your abhorrent behavior? Demeaning yourself with a human like this.”

“First of all,” Nick growled, coming to Kurt’s defense. “ He doesn’t have any problems, except for you. As far as what the heirs think… How do you feel about us associating with Kurt your highness?” Blaine, who still had his arms around Kurt smiled lovingly at him.

“I have absolutely no issues with it. I find Kurt to be amazing, but then again, I might be biased. What say you cousin?” 

“I find him to be delightful as well, Blaine. In fact, it’s really too bad that more humans aren’t like him. He is certainly an asset to Dalton and our little group in particular. I mean his voice alone…well, let’s just say it’s going to win us regionals.” Wes exclaimed like a proud parent. “Because, let’s face it, Berry, there are thousands of girls out there with a voice like yours, but there’s only a handful of guys with a voice like Kurt and none at McKinley now. You don’t know what you lost.”

Mercedes was positively sputtering with anger and shock. Kurt wasn’t supposed to be having a happy existence. He was supposed to be thinking about ways to make the situation right. Kurt had hurt them and given his friends a bad reputation and not only did he come out smelling like roses, he apparently knew both of the heirs on a close personal level, something Mercedes had always wanted for herself. Why else would she have put up with that whiny Tina as long as she had? She was left quite literally speechless.

“Well there you have it, straight from their own mouths. Kurt has the royal seal of approval. Your loss is most definitely our gain in so, so many ways.” Jeff purred seductively, giving Kurt bedroom eyes, hastily stepping back when Blaine growled at him.

“That’s all well and good, but we’re avoiding the issue here. Kurt is a traitor!” Rachel bellowed loudly, garnering glances from other patrons. “I mean I know Finn mentioned that you were thinking about joining them, but I didn’t think he was serious or that they could possibly want you.”

“Rachel, I don’t think it’s any of your business what I do anymore.” Kurt cuttingly replied. “As to whether they want me… well I’ve always thought actions spoke louder than words. Haven’t you darling?” 

“Most definitely my love,” Blaine murmured huskily. 

“Now, we have places to go and things to buy, so why don’t you take your out of date knee socks and your cheap polyester and go throw yourself at my step-brother, because frankly, you bore me.” 

“Why, you just wait, Kurt Hummel!” Rachel screeched. “You will pay for this one day!”

“I’m terrified Rachel,” Kurt said assuming a long suffering expression.

“I can’t believe I ever called you a friend, Kurt.” Mercedes shook her head and turned to follow Rachel as she stormed down the promenade. Quinn cuttingly spun on her heel, as well, following the other two girls.

“Go Kurt.” Jeff gleefully said, watching this play out in front of him. Humans were so much fun to just watch.

“Yeah…I’ll be paying for that at dinner, because Rachel was already dialing her phone when we walked away.” Kurt countered, trying not to mind when Blaine’s arms slid from around him. He’d known it was all an act for the girls, but he had enjoyed it far more than he should have allowed himself to.

“Well, we’ll just have to take you out for dinner then. Now, I say we go spend some money.” Jeff perked up. “I think it will be fun to shop in Lima. Everyone should slum it once in a while. Don’t you agree, Kurt?”

“You have no idea, Jeffery.” Kurt smiled and led the way into one of the few stores he would consider shopping in. Blaine started to follow, only to be pulled back by Puck. 

“A word your highness,” Puck snapped, he waited until he was certain Kurt was out of earshot before growling, “What the hell was that Blaine? Do you have any idea what you just did?” The Warbler raised an imperious eyebrow.

“I’m going to ignore that tone of voice Noah because you are one of my best friends and I know you are merely concerned about Kurt,” Blaine said. “And to answer your question, yes I know exactly what I did. I can no longer allow people to continue hurting him Puck, not with the way I feel about him.”

“Jesus Christ Anderson! Now he’s not the only one I’m concerned about. You all but declared Kurt your Chosen One just then. How do you think your father is going to react when he finds out, and he will find out because Mercedes will go straight to Tina. And what about Kurt? Is he aware of your intentions or their ramifications?”

“I’ll talk to my father tonight. As far as Kurt goes…we haven’t reached that point in our relationship yet. I am moving very slowly with this Puck, but I promise I will make sure that he is fully aware of what being with me will mean for him.”

“Then I’m happy for you man. You’re probably the only person I can think of that’d be good enough for him anyway. And on the bright side, it gives me an excuse to punch Hudson in the face next time he’s an ass,” Puck grinned. Blaine laughed.

“You have my full permission for that. In fact, why don’t we consider it a royal command,” Blaine smirked as they hurried to catch up with the others.

 

Kurt returned home with a promise from the guys to come see them in Westerville before the break was over after refusing their offer for dinner. He knew from experience that he would just have been delaying the inevitable. He entered the house, already feeling the tension seep into his bones.

“Just in time for dinner, kiddo.” Burt met his son as he came into the house. He waited for Kurt to take off his coat and put down his bags. “Did you have a good time shopping with your friends?”

“It was nice. Even though I think Lima was a bit of a culture shock for the guys.” Kurt answered, sliding into his chair at the dinner table. “They’re used to much more sophisticated things, but we all had a good afternoon.”

“Burt, do you even know what kinds of people your son is associating with?” Carole was still flabbergasted at how she’d been treated in her own home.

“They seemed like nice kids, Carole. Why?” Burt was confused at her response to Kurt’s friends. They’d seemed like nice boys when he’d visited Dalton.

“They thought I was the household help and dismissed me like some maid.” Carole shouted.

“Carole, I’m sure it was an honest mistake. I mean, those boys probably grew up with house staff.” Burt cautiously replied to his ticked off wife. He knew he had to tread easy with her.

“They were nothing but rude. I don’t think they should be allowed back in our home.” She declared. Burt sighed. Carole was livid with her husband’s response.

“They are Kurt’s friends and they are welcome in our home when they come over.” Burt firmly stated. “Did you not think he would have friends from Dalton come and visit while they are on semester break?”

“I thought our house was supposed to be vampire free?” Carole snorted with derision. “I mean, that was how Kurt felt when he refused to let Mercedes, Tina, Puck, and Mike in only a few months ago. What has changed so much?”

“Our home is welcoming to Kurt’s friends, the same way it is Finn’s.” Burt replied. “I think those boys from Dalton are good for Kurt and what’s changed is that Kurt is finally able to work through the attack and move on. I think that’s the most important thing Dalton has done for him.”

“Oh, please. The only thing Dalton has done for Kurt is to give him a new playground.” Finn’s face contorted in revulsion. “That one guy was hitting on me at the front door. Talk about a gay school. Looks like Kurt finally found a place for his roving eyes.”

“Finn! Stop it right now!” Kurt enraged because his step-brother had no right to speak that way. “You just get used to Jeff. I mean, it doesn’t bother me anymore. That’s just the way he is. He flirts with everyone. I mean, he even flirted with Rachel at the mall.”

“Mom!” Finn wailed as if he was a two year old child wanting his mother to make everything better.

“Kurt?” Burt looked at his son, but trying to hide a grin.

“Is it my fault that someone clearly someone finds Rachel attractive, other than you, Finn? Besides, aren’t you dating Quinn or did that already end? I really can’t keep up with your revolving chart of girlfriends.” Kurt asked as sweetly as he could. “I’m sorry if it bothers you, but the vampires that attend Dalton are very sensuous and have no problems expressing themselves.”

“Mother, do something.” Finn whined. “And I am dating Rachel now, Kurt.”

“That boy flirts with you?” Carole looked skeptical. “And my son and his girlfriend?”

“Jeff flirts with everyone.” Kurt murmured. “It’s not a big thing.”

“I certainly think you should look at making some different friends, Kurt.” Carole said, stabbing at her food. “You are at that school to get an education, not spend your time with bad influences. Do you know what Dalton costs a year?”

“No, I don’t know what Dalton costs a year, and neither do you since they were kind enough to give me a scholarship. I do not need different friends either. The ones I have are amazing, unlike the ones from McKinley who turned their back on me,” Kurt said trying to keep his voice calm, but his step-mother was crossing lines that were none of her business.

“No one at McKinley turned their back on you. I think you are just making things up in your head. I believe you were the one that refused to go back to school.” Carole was just so tired of all the fighting with Kurt. The boy was clearly misguided and Burt wasn’t helping. “This is a product of hanging out with those boys and I don’t like this change in you.”

“I like my friends, Carole.” Kurt tried to stay calm, but it was hard work. “They have always listened to me and treated me with respect. They would never presume to make unfounded accusations. And they will be back to hang out with me in my home.”

“Well, then I won’t be here when they come again.” Carole declared firmly. Kurt rolled his eyes.

“I’m sure that will be a crushing blow to them Carole,” he couldn’t resist murmuring. Unfortunately his father heard him.

“Kurt, I’ve told you before not to talk to Carole like that, and Carole both of our children’s friends are equally welcome in our house.” Burt answered with finality in his tone that told everyone to either shut up or change the subject.

The next several days, Kurt tried to stay in his room and away from Carole and Finn. He was grateful when his father asked him to work in the shop because it would get him out of the house and away from the tension. If nothing else, it allowed him some extra spending cash, after all he had some very special people to buy for this year.


	9. Chapter Nine

“The modern vampire often has a very fine line to walk between their own laws and customs and those of the humans who also populate our world. Infractions which to us might be insignificant to humans are of major importance. By the same token, things which we would consider punishable by death, such as making inappropriate advances towards a claimed mate, in the human world can be brushed aside with an apology.”

-an excerpt from “The Modern Vampire: Rules, Roles, and Expectations” by Daisy Belle Hughes

 

Kurt was trying… really…he was. He had done his best not to comment on the fact that all of the beautiful hand-made decorations his mother had made were not being used this year. He understood that it would’ve been difficult for Carole, even if the new ones she had purchased were gaudy to the point of being downright tacky. He had bitten his tongue when pretty much every Christmas tradition he and his father had shared was ignored or not followed, but, on Christmas morning, when Carole handed him the ugly green commercially made stocking, he just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Where’s my stocking?” Kurt said, only just managing not to growl.

“What dear?” Carole asked sweetly, even though Kurt saw the flash of triumph in her eyes. She looked down lovingly at her husband when she handed him his stocking.

“The stocking that I use every year.” Kurt angrily said. He could live with all of the other changes which had been made but this was the straw that broke the camel’s back, for Kurt. It wasn’t a holiday unless that stocking was up there to know his mom was watching over him at this time of year, especially this particular year when he had needed her so badly.

“Oh, that old thing? It was just so shabby and used.” Carole smirked. “I think it’s in a box in the attic or something. I really don’t know, unless it was in that stuff I gave to Goodwill.”

Kurt was in shock, not sure what to say until his father jumped in.

“Carole, Lizzy made that for Kurt. He’s never not used it for a Christmas. It was their special tradition.”

“Of course it was. Poor dear Sainted Lizzy,” Carole said, very large and, Kurt was certain, very fake tears springing to her eyes. “Do you realize how hard it is for me to compete with your dead wife? I’m trying my best to integrate us into a family now. This is a special holiday for us to celebrate as a family. As our own unit together; I didn’t know that stupid stocking was important to Kurt.”

“It’s okay honey. Don’t cry. I understand and I’m sure Kurt does too. Why don’t we find it later and Kurt, you can put it away as a keepsake? Carole did go to an awful lot of trouble to get everyone new stocking this year.”

“Fine, Dad.” Kurt said through gritted teeth, not wanting to cause any more problems. This Christmas was going to be tough enough as it was.

Kurt dutifully opened his stocking to find some gummy bears and granola bars. He glanced over at Finn to see him pulling out a couple of x-box games and gift cards. He supposed he should have expected something like this, but he thought the Christmas spirit would take over his step-mother’s heart. He was made to feel only slightly better by the displeased look on his father’s face when he saw the disparity between Kurt’s stocking and Finn’s.

Unfortunately, it only got worse when it was time for Christmas presents. Kurt shook his head as he opened his two gifts; socks and underwear from Wal-Mart. Finn was whooping it up as he unwrapped more video games, an I-pod touch, an I-phone, and a new laptop. Kurt was not shocked to see the gifts were the top of the line with all the bells and whistles. Burt was outright glaring at his wife now.

“Thanks mom, Burt. This Christmas has rocked.” Finn was all smiles as he looked at all his new stuff.

“It was my pleasure to shop for someone that I know will appreciate it.” Carole said with love in her voice, her dagger and hate filled eyes cutting over to look at Kurt.

“I picked this out myself.” Burt handed Kurt a small box. Kurt smiled at his father as he unwrapped the small box and opened it to find a wonderful new watch that would go immediately on his wrist.

“Dad. Thank you.” Kurt beamed brightly as he looked at the silver watch.

“You’re welcome son. I had thought when I gave Carole the Christmas money that she was buying for both you and Finn,” Burt said sending his wife a stern look. “Apparently our signals got mixed though. I’ll take you shopping tomorrow and get your other presents. I’m sorry they’re late.”

“Don’t worry about it Dad. Christmas isn’t about presents anyway. It’s about being with the people you love,” Kurt responded, determined not to let Carole know how much she had gotten to him.

“What a sweet sentiment Kurt. Which reminds me, I forgot to tell you that Burt and Finn and I will be going to my sister’s for lunch. Unfortunately, I didn’t know you were coming home, so I only RSVP’d for three. I’m sure there’s enough food in the fridge for you to find something. We probably won’t be back until late.”

“Carole, surely your sister can make room for one more,” Burt said through clenched teeth.

“Well, she probably could Burt, but that would be unforgivably rude of us don’t you think?” Carole responded.

Kurt fought to keep his fake smile in place. “That’s alright, Dad. I’ll be fine here.” 

“Kurt…”

“Dad, it’s okay. You guys go and have fun today. Really, I’m good. I’ll watch some movies or do something on the computer. Don’t worry about me.”

“Kurt…”

“Dad, go eat something healthy for breakfast. I’m going to take my things upstairs.”

 

Kurt made it all the way to his room before breaking down. He hurled the cheap socks and underwear across the room and threw himself onto his bed tears running down his cheeks. He missed his Mom. He missed his friends. He missed when it was just him and his dad, when things were so much simpler.

Burt heard his son crying and it broke his heart. “Kurt…”

Kurt brushed the tears off his cheeks and wiped his eyes before turning his head to look at his father. “It’s alright, Dad. I really didn’t want to spend Christmas with Carole’s family.”

“Son, about the gifts…” Burt was at a loss. He’d seen Kurt’s face when he’d seen Finn’s presents. He’d also realized Kurt was putting on a smile for him.

“Dad, the watch was so wonderful. It made up for everything I didn’t get.” Kurt said. “You don’t have to worry about taking me shopping tomorrow either. I know Carole spent the entire Christmas budget on Finn. We can’t afford it, and I don’t need anything anyway.”

“I never thought she’d be so vindictive, especially at Christmas, and if she thinks I’m leaving you home alone on Christmas, she’s got another thing coming!” Burt resolved to have a conversation with his wife. Christmas was hard enough for Kurt without Carole’s drama.

“Please, don’t Dad. Let’s just move on. Go with Carole and Finn. I don’t need a babysitter. Just go and have a good time.” Kurt didn’t want to ruin the holidays for his father. He could just shove down the insults like always.

“Kurt, I just can’t.”

“Dad, consider the peace and quiet a gift to me.”

“That’s not a gift in your own home, bud.” Burt didn’t like Kurt feeling like that was a gift.

 

Puck stood outside, listening to the conversations in the Hummel house. Blaine had asked him to keep an eye on Kurt during break. Although he wasn’t sure exactly that Blaine’s interest in Kurt was a good idea, having observed the Hummel-Hudson house for the last several days, he understood why Blaine was so concerned. He couldn’t believe Carole would be so heartless and Burt would go along with it. He reached for his phone determined to fix things for his friend.

 

Kurt sighed flipping through the channels, trying to find something to watch that wasn’t a Christmas movie or sporting event. He finally settled on A Christmas Carol because he was identifying very strongly with Ebenezer Scrooge at the moment. He was just starting to doze off, exhausted from his emotionally taxing day, when the doorbell rang. He heaved himself off the couch and opened the door to be met with the sound of Christmas carols from the Warblers. When the song was over, most of the boys bid Kurt Merry Christmas and departed, leaving just Blaine, Wes, Nick, and Jeff who stepped forward smiling.

“Did you honestly think we could let the holiday go without telling you Merry Christmas Kurt?” Blaine asked. Kurt couldn’t stop the tears which sprang to his eyes. For the first time that day, it felt like Christmas.

“Why don’t you guys come in? I don’t really have any umm… blood to offer you but I do have some sugar cookies I made,” he said, wiping at his eyes.

“Cookies? I am so in,” Jeff grinned. 

“Me too,” Nick said. “I haven’t had cookies since my Nana Duvall died when I was five.”

“Died? But I thought…” Kurt began puzzled.

“She was human, Kurt. Remember, my parents are turned,” Nick reminded him. Kurt led the boys into his house…quickly plugging in the tree, turning on some Christmas music, and scurrying to the kitchen for the cookies and some egg-nog. When he returned, he was shocked to see several wrapped boxes under the tree.

“What on earth?” he questioned.

“Santa came by while you were gone,” Blaine said grinning. “He said he’d heard you’d been very good this year.”

“He did, did he? Well, tell Santa that he didn’t have to do this, but it’s pretty amazing nevertheless. I have presents for you guys too. One second,” Kurt replied smiling.

He quickly ran up to his room and grabbed the gifts he’d purchased for his friends. They weren’t anything major, his budget was severely limited this year, but he wanted the guys to know he appreciated their friendship. He came back down and handed them the gifts insisting they open them first. Jeff was thrilled with the cologne Kurt got for him. Nick really liked the book, saying he’d almost bought it for himself the other day when they had gone to the mall. Wes loved the gift card to iTunes and Blaine immediately put on the bow tie which Kurt had spent hours and hours debating over. Now it was Kurt’s turn to open his presents.

“This one first,” Jeff said handing Kurt a large, brightly wrapped box. The blonde was literally bouncing around, although whether it was from excitement or the sugar in all of the cookies he had eaten Kurt wasn’t sure. Much to Jeff’s annoyance, Kurt carefully opened the present, preserving the paper.

“Oh my gosh!” Kurt gasped, pulling out the dark skinny jeans and soft, blood-red shirt contained inside. “These are gorgeous! Thank you Jeff!”

“You’re welcome,” Jeff answered smiling at Kurt’s happiness. “That outfit is for when we go clubbing when we are in New York because we are going to stomp the competition in regionals. “

“This one is from me,” Nick said, handing Kurt a smaller box which Kurt opened to reveal a beautiful scarf.

“It’s amazing, Nick! I love it!” Kurt exclaimed.

“I thought you might want to keep that neck safe. You do go to a school full of vampires after all,” he teased. 

“Very true,” Kurt giggled wrapping the scarf around his neck.

“This one is from me and this one is from the rest of the guys,” Wes said handing Kurt two more packages. Kurt opened them both. Wes had bought Kurt some pajama pants, a Dalton hoodie, and some slippers.

“Thought you might be able to use these next semester when you’re rooming. It’s standard attire for Warbler movie night,” Wes said. Kurt thanked Wes before opening the gift from the other Warblers which contained a three hundred dollar gift card to the day spa in Westerville as well as a brand new Alexander McQueen messenger bag. Kurt gasped practically bouncing in delight.

“McQueen! This is McQueen!” he squealed as he examined the bag. Blaine beamed, thrilled to see Kurt so happy.

“Last but not least,” Blaine said handing Kurt the last present from under the tree. Kurt unwrapped the present. Inside was beautiful leather bound photo album and a matching locking journal. Both were embossed with Kurt’s name in beautiful gold script.

“I know you miss your Dad when you’re away and I thought maybe you could use this album to make a scrapbook of your family so you’d have a little bit of them with you when you’re at Dalton. I also got you a locking journal because, well, you shouldn’t have to worry about your private thoughts remaining private,” Blaine said, hoping that Kurt liked the gifts. He’d had an extremely difficult time deciding what to get the blue eyed boy. He wanted Kurt to know how much he cared, without revealing too much of his feelings. It was a very fine line Blaine was walking with Kurt at the moment and he knew it.

“Thank you Blaine! Thank you so much,” Kurt said throwing himself at Blaine and wrapping him in a fierce hug. Blaine hugged Kurt back a look of pure joy on his face, both boys were completely oblivious to the knowing looks being exchanged between their friends. 

“I’m glad you liked your gifts Kurt,” Blaine smiled once they pulled apart. Kurt looked around at his friends his eyes filling with tears of pure happiness. He was so lucky to have these boys in his life.

“I’m not sure how you guys knew I needed you, but I’m so glad you came and I really appreciate the presents. You made my day. I don’t even have words to express how much this has meant to me. Although, I feel bad that you guys left your families for me.”

“We’ll always be here if you need us Kurt, day or night. All you have to do is call and we’ll come running, no matter what,” Blaine replied looking intently at Kurt.

“Yeah and don’t worry about the family thing. Christmas isn’t as big of a deal for us as it is humans. Halloween is more our holiday.” Jeff added.

“As much fun as this has been, we do, unfortunately need to be getting back,” Wes said. The boys helped Kurt clear up the mess from the cookies and presents before grabbing their jackets and gifts from Kurt and heading for the door.

“Bye Kurt,” Nick called. “See you next week.”

“Later sexy,” Jeff said, winking as he passed by.

“Keep practicing that duet, Kurt. See you next week,” Wes said waving. Finally it was just Blaine and Kurt standing on the front door step.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Kurt?” Blaine asked. Kurt smiled nodding.

“I’m fine thanks to you guys, and if I’m suddenly not, I promise to call.” Kurt said.

“I guess that’s all I can ask for then. Merry Christmas Kurt,” Blaine said, slowly leaning in and placing the lightest of kisses on a shocked Kurt’s cheek before joining the others in the car. Kurt stood there for a moment a hand on his face where the feel of Blaine’s lips lingered before turning and entering the house.

 

His eyes lit almost immediately upon the gift Blaine had given him. Determinedly, Kurt marched up the stairs, stopping at the door to the attic where he knew a lot of his mother’s things were stored. After searching for what felt like forever, Kurt found a box shoved under what appeared to be some of Finn’s old practice clothes which contained his stocking and all of the pictures of his mother and himself which had once been proudly displayed in the house. After another quick search, he also found most of the pictures of he and his dad, which he put into the box as well. He held the box carefully as he took it into his room. He would use the holiday, and the album Blaine had given him, to make a scrapbook of his memories of his mother.

 

Hours later, when Burt, Carole, and Finn arrived home, they were surprised to see Kurt so happy. He was wrapped snuggly in the pajama pants and hoodie Wes had given him, humming as he went through photos to put in the album.

“How was your day?” Burt asked, shocked to see his son in such a bright mood.

“It was really great actually. My friends from Dalton stopped by to bring me gifts.” Kurt announced.

“What?” Carole’s face twisted in anger. “Why would they do something like that?”

“Yeah, they forgot to give them to me before we left for semester break.”

“Did you bother to ask us if that was okay that you had guests on Christmas day?” Carole snorted.

“Didn’t we have this argument already?” Kurt said tiredly, rolling his eyes at his father’s stern look. “You weren’t here and I didn’t think I had to ask permission to have friends over. It wasn’t like they were bothering anyone since I was here alone.” He had to fight the urge to yank his gifts away when Carole went over to inspect them.

“These look awfully expensive for simple gifts between friends. Are you sure that they aren’t payments for services rendered?”

“Carole!” Burt shouted at his wife for uttering such a disgusting comment on Christmas day.

“Come on, Burt. You know friends don’t give gifts like that unless they want something or unless they’ve already gotten it.”

“Maybe they were just being friendly Carole,” Burt growled.

What would surely have turned into a huge family argument was interrupted by a knock on the door, which an angry Carole swiftly went to answer.

“Evenin’ Mrs. H. Finn home?” the mohawked form of Noh Puckerman greeted.

“Hello Puck,” Carole said smiling tightly. “He’s in his room.”

“Great thanks,” Puck said. “Hey Porcelain. Sweet hoodie. I’ve got one just like it from my days at Dalton.”

“I’d forgotten you went to Dalton, Puck,” Carole said, her eyes narrowing as she reached out a hand to stop Puck as he started up the stairs. “Perhaps you can settle an argument for us. Those boys at that school, are they in the habit of giving extravagant gifts?”

“Depends on your definition of extravagant,” Puck shrugged. “I mean most of ‘em have more money than Bill Gates so, they think nothing of spending a small fortune on each other.”

“See Carole?” Burt said triumphantly.

“They give gifts like that to each other, but Kurt’s not exactly one of them, is he? They clearly want something from him or maybe he’s already given it to them,” Carole snidely responded. Kurt saw Puck’s eyes narrow and take on the faintest reddish hue.

“No disrespect Mrs. Hummel, but you’re wrong. He is one of them, even if he isn’t a vampire, and they protect their own. You might want to remember that before it’s too late,” Puck said before continuing up the stairs to join Finn, leaving a spluttering Carole standing by the front door.

****

Kurt smiled as he pulled into the parking lot at the Westerville Mall. He giggled when he saw that the boys were waiting for him at the entrance like they had been on his first day at Dalton. It was quite comforting to him. None of his former friends had wanted to be seen with him in Lima after the Karofsky mess.

“Kurt, you came.” Jeff was bouncy.

“Of course I came. Shopping was involved. Besides, I needed to get out of the house.” Kurt happily smiled.

“Trouble?” Blaine had been worried about Kurt the entire semester break because the situation in Kurt’s home, not even Pucks’ reassurances that Kurt was fine completely set his mind at ease.

“As usual.” Kurt sighed. “Finn wanted to have a New Year’s Eve party and my dad told him no.”

“And Finn didn’t take it well?” Nick surmised quickly.

“Finn is a spoiled, rotten brat. He doesn’t take having rules and restrictions well on the best of days.” Kurt rolled his eyes. “Anyway, he invited all the guys over to hang out. Luckily for me, we had this trip planned so I wouldn’t be restricted to my room for the day.”

“Why would you be restricted to your room?” Wes asked, raising an eyebrow at Blaine.

“Because, other than Puck, Mike, and Artie, Finn’s friends are all giant homophobic football players. I try to avoid them at all costs.” Kurt’s words were cold and hard. “But I don’t want to talk about it. I want to shop. I was promised a trip that I wouldn’t forget.”

“Oh, you won’t forget this one, Kurt.” Blaine answered, allowing the subject to drop. He was determined to make this day amazing for Kurt. Taking his hand, Blaine led him into the mall.

Kurt was amazed at how clean the mall was and how every surface seemed to gleam and shine in the sun that was streaming in the glass roof.

“Tada! What do you think?” Blaine smiled because the boy next to him just seemed to be so enthralled by everything.

“It’s a lot to take in. I could never imagine something like this in Lima. I mean, people there are satisfied with flannel.” Kurt loved the mall and he knew he would be back to shop some other time here.

“And you haven’t even stepped foot into a store.” Wes laughed. “We have to take you into Ross Music. They are amazing.” 

“Please… forget the music store… fashion Kurt. The clothing selection here is to do die for! How you have managed to be so fabulous with so little to work with amazes me, but I absolutely cannot wait to see what you do with real couture,” Jeff said linking his arm with Kurt’s.

“Then lead on.” Kurt laughed. “I want to shop.”

Blaine watched with delight as Kurt laughed with Nick at Jeff’s antics or exclaimed over a particularly spectacular item of clothing. He had never seen Kurt so happy or so free. Even the pout Kurt gave him when he insisted on paying for a top that Kurt had loved, but deemed too expensive was amazing to him. If Blaine had held any doubt about the way he felt about the young human, it was completely stripped away in one afternoon of shopping. Kurt Hummel was it for him. Now he just had to figure out what to do about it.

****

Kurt had thoroughly enjoyed his day of shopping with his friends and was singing along happily to the radio in his car the entire way home, until he got close enough to see the cars parked in front of his house which signified Finn’s friends had not yet left. He let out a groan of frustration. It looked like he’d be spending the evening in his room. He got out of his car and started to grab his bags wishing he’d taken the invitation to spend New Year’s with the others at Nick’s house. His irritation turned to fear, however, when he spotted the bright red jeep he had learned meant extreme danger. Karofsky… Finn had invited Karofsky to his house. 

With nerveless fingers he shoved the bags back into his car and quickly followed them, locking the doors with shaking hands. He frantically dug through his messenger bag looking for his keys and realizing suddenly he’d dropped them outside the car, but he was too paralyzed with fear to open the door and grab them, because what if he opened the door and Karofsky was there? On the otherhand, what good did the locked door do with keys right outside? Shaking he continued to panic, as he carefully opened the door, snatched the keys, and shut and locked them again. His heart was racing and his hands were shaking so badly he could barely get his keys in the ignition and start the car. He started to back out of the driveway, letting out a scream of pure terror when he spotted the figure standing behind the Navigator.

****

Blaine drove like a man possessed. When he had gotten the text from Puck saying that Kurt’s imbecile of a brother had invited Karofsky of all people to their home, his insides had turned to ice. He knew they were only moments behind Kurt, but a lot could happen in just moments, especially when vampires were involved. He had spun the car around immediately, scaring the hell out of the boys in the car with him, offering no explanation other than to toss his cellphone to Wesley who had read Puck’s text and cursed telling Blaine to go faster.

“I will kill him. I will shatter his mind into a million pieces if he has so much as laid a finger on him,” Blaine growled as they tore down Kurt’s street.

“Blaine calm down,” Nick pleaded, his words falling on deaf ears as they screeched to a halt at Kurt’s house. Blaine immediately spotted the hulking figure leaning causally against Kurt’s SUV a panicked and crying Kurt inside it. He didn’t even take the time to turn the vehicle off before he was out it.

“Get away from him now!” Blaine roared, his eyes a bright angry scarlet. Karofsky gave the much smaller vampire a contemptuous look.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is who he is, and who he is is mine,” Blaine growled. “Now you have three seconds to get away from him.”

“Oh I don’t think so. You see I was here first. I staked my claim on him a long time ago and no preppy little dwarf is going to take him away from me,” Karofsky snarled. With a growl, Blaine shoved Karofsky away from Kurt’s car, placing himself protectively in front of the door. The other boys quickly closed ranks in front of him. The soft click of the lock opening was all the warning he had before he suddenly found himself with an armful of Kurt as the boy scrambled out of the car and threw himself into Blaine’s protective embrace.

“Shh… It’s ok. I’ve got you now. You’re safe. We won’t let him hurt you,” Blaine murmured, unconsciously placing a gentle kiss on the top of Kurt’s head. He was vaguely aware that their argument had drawn a crowd as the McKinley boys had heard the commotion and piled out of the house, but he could have cared less at that moment because he was too focused on the fact that Kurt was safe and sound in his arms.

“Gosh Karofsky, it seems pretty obvious that you’re not the one Kurt is interested in. In fact, I’d say he sort of finds you repellent,” Jeff smirked, answering for Blaine as the prince was obviously busy with more important things. 

“That does seem to be the case doesn’t it?” Wes agreed. “Perhaps that’s why you were ordered by the Council to stay away from him?” 

“I didn’t know he’d be here, and I was here first anyway. He clearly couldn’t stay away from me,” Karofsky coldly smiled.

“Yes he certainly seems thrilled to see you,” Jeff remarked. “I mean the way he threw himself in your arms… no wait… that was Blaine he threw himself at.”

“I suggest you leave… now,” Wesley ordered.

“Hey! This is my house! I invited him here. He can stay if he wants,” Finn inserted. Wesley sent him an icy glare.

“This may indeed be your house human, but he is a vampire in my coven… under my jurisdiction… one who is treading dangerously close to breaking the parole he was given,” Wes said to Finn before turning back to Karofsky. “This is the last warning you will get from me. Leave now or I will involve the Council.”

“Whatever man. It was a lame party anyway,” Karofsky muttered getting in his jeep and leaving, his tires spitting gravel behind him as he sped away.

“Kurt, sweetheart, are you ok?” Blaine asked, carefully studying the boy in his arms, not even noticing the endearment he had used. Kurt gave a shaky nod.

“I’m… I’m fine now,” he managed to get out.

“Oh please,” Finn muttered rolling his eyes. “He was just leaning against your car trying to talk to you. Suck it up Kurt. Just accept his apology and move on already. Enough with the poor defenseless Kurt act!” Blaine growled low in his throat, but Jeff deftly stepped between him and the tall human.

“Well hello again stud. I missed you in all the excitement, although I don’t know how. Aren’t you just looking like a meal for a hungry man in those jeans and that flannel shirt,” Jeff purred advancing on Finn and licking his fangs. Finn’s eyes widened and he backed up practically hiding behind Puck who rolled his eyes.

“Come on guys,” Puck said. “Let’s leave Hummel and his preppy little friends alone. We’ve got COD to play.” With mumbled agreement, Finn and the other McKinley boys retreated back into the house. Puck was the last to go, giving Blaine and the others a subtle nod as he passed.

“Alright Kurt. I’m not taking no for an answer this time. You are coming with us to my house. It’s not safe here with your Dad gone. Besides, my house will be way more fun,” Nick said, taking Kurt’s hand and pulling him towards Blaine’s car.

“But… I don’t have any clothes or my skincare things or…” Kurt started to protest.

“Just tell me what you need and where it’s at and I’ll have Puck grab it and bring it when he comes later,” Blaine said, putting an arm around Kurt and ushering him the rest of the way to the car.

The boys spent the rest of the day and all of the night doing their best to help Kurt relax and forget about the unpleasantness with Karofsky. Jeff flirted with him even more outrageously than normal. Nick and he flipped through fashion magazines together critiquing the looks and making fun of the truly horrendous ones. Wes initiated a karaoke competition which was a lot of fun and very distracting for Kurt, especially when Blaine got up and performed an amazing rendition of Teenage Dream. Kurt’s favorite part of the evening, however, was when they watched, much to Nick’s chagrin, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. They hadn’t even reached the scene with the dementors on the Hogwarts Express when Blaine put his arm around Kurt and pulled him into his side. Kurt had initially tensed up at the contact, but had gradually relaxed and spent the rest of the movie contentedly snuggled up to Blaine.

As midnight approached, Kurt found himself in a pensive mood and he pulled apart from the others, going to the picture window in Nick’s living room to look out at the night sky. 

“A penny for your thoughts?’ Blaine murmured coming up behind Kurt. Kurt turned, smiling softly at the other boy.

“I was just thinking about everything that’s happened this year,” Kurt answered. Blaine frowned.

“It’s been a rough one for you, hasn’t it?” Blaine asked. Kurt nodded.

“It has and yet… I think it might have been one of the best too,” he answered. Blaine raised an eyebrow.

“One of the best? Why?” he questioned. Kurt smiled, blushing in the way Blaine found impossible to resist.

“Because I went to Dalton. I made some amazing true friends… I met you,” Kurt admitted, biting his lip.

“Kurt,” Blaine breathed, his voice the barest whisper of sound as the clock began to chime midnight. Slowly, and so carefully that Kurt might have been made of the porcelain he was so often called, Blaine lowered his head and with the lightest, most faint of touches, brushed his lips across Kurt’s. “Happy New Year Kurt.”

“Happy New Year Blaine,” Kurt murmured in return as Blaine pulled him into his arms and they watched the New Year come in together.


	10. Chapter Ten

“Physically speaking, the vampire is a near perfect specimen. They do not age past full maturity or, in the case of turned vampires who have already reached maturity, past the age of turning. They are virtually impervious to all but the most extremes of both heat and cold. Additionally, they have an exceptional healing factor which allows their bodies to quickly and completely heal from all but the most life threatening of injuries. Their immune systems are astounding. Vampires rarely, if ever, fall sick. The only exception to this being, of course, the Great Plague of the early twentieth century in which hundreds of vampires fell ill and died after ingesting tainted blood, the largest loss of vampire life in recorded history.”

-an excerpt from “The Anatomy and Physiology of the Vampire” by Dr. Tabitha Duvall

 

Much to Kurt’s relief, the holidays were finally over and he was able to escape to Dalton. Finn and Carole had become nearly unbearable, especially after the trouble Finn had gotten into with Burt for inviting Karofsky to the house. Kurt had spent the last several days of his break in his room alternately packing his things and working on his scrapbook. His Dad had helped him load all of his things in the Navigator the night before, and Kurt had left early that morning. He hauled the last box of stuff up the stairs to his room, wondering where everybody was. 

After New Year’s Eve, and the kiss with Blaine, which he had managed to convince himself was merely a New Year’s kiss between friends, because, after all, he and Blaine were not together, he had sort of avoided the Warblers. Not that he wanted nothing to do with them, he just needed some time to get his mind wrapped around exactly what was going on with his hazel-eyed friend. He still hadn’t quite managed to do that, but he thought he could probably be in the same room with him now without throwing himself at the other boy and kissing his face off.

Oddly, his roommate had been absent while he was moving in as well. He really hoped that it was someone he was comfortable with. He was also rather hoping that it wasn’t Jeff. He loved the boy, but the shameless flirting was starting to get on his nerves, harmless though he knew it was. Just as Kurt finished hanging his Gaga poster on the wall near his bed, heard a key inserted into the dorm room door, which slowly opened to reveal his roommate.

“Kurt? What are you doing in my room?” Blaine exclaimed the colorful “water” bottle he had been drinking from frozen halfway to his lips.

“Hi. I guess we’re roommates. Is that okay because if you’d rather have your privacy, I can switch?” Kurt asked biting his lip nervously and blushing profusely as his eyes focused on Blaine’s lips. The giant smile which blossomed on Blaine’s face was all the answer Kurt needed.

“No, no. It’s more than okay. In fact, it’s amazing! I wish I had known. I would have been here to help you move in. I was downstairs. I had to go…um…to get…”

“Blaine, it’s okay. I get where you needed to go. The vampires at this school think they’re so slick. I know you guys do occasionally have to eat.” Kurt said. “Those colorfully designed bottles, although fabulous, don’t hide anything.”

“No, I guess not,” Blaine said taking a tentative sip from the bottle, but keeping his eyes on Kurt to gauge his reaction, relieved when the other boy didn’t even bat an eyelash. “So, are you settled in yet?”

“Sort of. I’m getting there at any rate. I have all my stuff here that I will need during the week. I promised my dad I would try to go home on weekends. I know he misses me and I miss him.” Kurt only regretted boarding because he wouldn’t get to see his dad as much.

Blaine took another sip from his bottle and a thoughtful look crossed his face. “Kurt, we don’t really have a cafeteria here. How are you going to eat if you’re living here full-time now?”

“Headmaster Schaffer gave me permission to leave campus for lunch and dinner as long as I didn’t stray too far out of Westerville. I have my own stash of breakfast items like cereal bars, bagels, and muffins. I can be resourceful when I need to be. And I got permission to have a toaster, fridge, and microwave in the room. I hope that won’t bother you.” Kurt didn’t want to put Blaine out…after all, it was his room first.

“Kurt, this room is big enough for a whole kitchen. I doubt a few small appliances are going to be an issue.” Blaine answered, wanting Kurt to be as comfortable as possible away from home. “Besides, anyone here would be glad to go get you something from any of the restaurants in town. We do have the advantage of speed on our sides.”

“I’m glad you’re okay with it then, Blaine.” Kurt answered. 

“I just wanted to make sure you were well taken care of. We can’t have anything happen to you. You’re too important to us.” Blaine mentioned, causing Kurt to blush.

“Thanks Blaine. It’s nice to be important to someone.”

*****

The first morning of classes at Dalton, Kurt rose early, noticing that Blaine was out of bed already, and assumed that he had probably left to go to the gym with Jeff and Nick. He knew from the times he had stayed over last semester that the three of them did that a few times a week, so he thought nothing of opening the door to the en suite bathroom and going in. He stopped short at the sight of Blaine standing there, droplets of water clinging to his skin and still wrapped in a towel. Kurt felt his mouth go dry and the only coherent thought he had in his head was “Oh my Freaking God!” He had no idea how long he stood there, probably slack-jawed and drooling before he realized Blaine was speaking to him.

“… you ok? Why is your heart beating so fast?” Blaine asked, taking a step towards him and causing him to emit a very girly squeak. “Kurt?”

“I… you… abs… and your hair… your hair is curly… I didn’t know it was curly,” he stuttered, suddenly wishing that Karofsky had succeeded in offing him because that couldn’t have been as bad as the mortification he was going to surely die from now.

“Oh, yeah. It’s awful. I know. I have to put tons of gel in it to get it to be even remotely manageable,” Blaine said running his hands through the glistening wet curls, causing Kurt’s heart to race even faster, something which Blaine of course noticed. “ Wow! Your heart is really racing Kurt. Are you okay? Maybe you should sit down?”

“I’m fine. I just… Nick… I umm… I need to go talk to Nick,” Kurt finally managed turning and fleeing in search of his friend, who luckily lived just across the hall. 

“Nick!” Kurt hissed pounding frantically on the door. The door was opened a few seconds later by a sleepy looking Nick.

“Kurt?” he said drowsily. “What’s wrong? Wow your heart is going a mile a minute. Are you ok?”

“No… I’m not. I just… Blaine… in a towel and oh my Gaga!” Kurt managed to get out. Nick quickly pulled him in the room shutting the door behind him.

“Start at the beginning and breathe this time,” Nick said guiding him over to a nearby chair.

“I got up this morning and thought Blaine was gone and walked in the bathroom and he wasn’t gone. He was wearing a towel and I made a complete idiot of myself but oh my god … Have you ever seen the man without a shirt on?”

“I have,” a smirky voice said, quickly followed by Jeff’s blonde head popping up from the covers on one of the beds in the room. “I have to agree. He is pretty damn lickable.”

“Jeff? What are you doing here? Why is he here to witness my humiliation?’ Kurt asked.

“Because I live here Kurtie-pie,” the blonde grinned. “Is Blaine aware that he has made you so completely unglued?”

“Oh God!” Kurt exclaimed, burying his face in his hands.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jeff replied. Nick sent his roommate a glare.

“Shut up Jeff. You’re not helping. Kurt relax. Blaine is a wonderful, amazing guy, but he is also completely clueless. He’s probably across the hall right now worried sick that he has scared you or something. It won’t even occur to him that your heart was beating so fast because you were well…”

“Hot for his body?” Jeff inserted.

“Again, not helping Jeff,” Nick said grabbing a pillow and throwing it at his friend. “Now, here is what you’re going to do. You’re going to go back to your room and pretend like nothing has happened. If Blaine asks, just say you had woken up from a nightmare and were disoriented or something and wanted to talk to me about it. He’s too polite to push you. It’ll be ok. Now go.”

Taking a deep fortifying breath, Kurt did as Nick directed. Nick shut the door behind him leaning against it with a sigh.

“That was shitty advice,” Jeff said getting out of bed and going to the mini-fridge and pulling out a bottle and taking a long drink, licking his fangs when he was done.

“Excuse me?”

“Kurt needs to admit to himself and Blaine how he feels or they’re going to be stuck where they are forever. He can’t avoid his feelings like this,” Jeff said.

“You mean like me?” Nick snapped. “Well I’m sorry Jeff. I’m doing the best I can. I’m sorry I give shitty advice and I’m sorry that I can’t be who you want!” Grabbing his jacket, Nick fled the room, slamming the door behind him. With a low growl, Jeff threw the bottle he held at the wall. It exploded from the impact sending blood and shards of plastic flying across the room.

****

Despite the rocky start, Kurt really enjoyed rooming at Dalton. He and Blaine quickly settled in to a routine with each other, including establishing a shower schedule. Blaine had been right when he’d told Kurt that things at Dalton were much more fun after hours. He found himself growing closer to all of the guys, particularly Nick, who seemed to have some sort of falling out with Jeff which had taken them a couple of weeks to iron out. They were more or less back to normal now, to everyone’s relief. Jeff had been almost unbearable without Nick’s calming influence.

“Can I just say I really hate winter?” Kurt complained as he looked at the swirling white mess outside the windows one afternoon the last Thursday in January. It had been a record setting winter snow wise, and the most recent blizzard had canceled classes for the day.

“Winter is fun.” Jeff playfully said. “We can have a snowball fight all day.”

Kurt snorted. “Unlike you, I do get cold.” 

“Don’t worry, Kurt. I’m sure someone will warm you up.” Jeff purred.

“Not you Jeffrey,” Blaine said firmly, not even looking up from the book he was reading.

“I never said me Blainers. Come on! I’m bored. It will be fun. When we get cold, we’ll come in and make a fire and have hot chocolate.”

“You drink hot chocolate?” Kurt asked with wide eyes.

“No, not generally, but it’s always sounded like a good idea and I want to try it.” 

“Come on guys you know you want to,” Jeff sang. Nick rolled his eyes.

“Fine I’m in,” Nick said.

“Me too, but I refuse to be on Jeff’s team,” Wes said. “I somehow always manage to end up in the lake when I’m on his side.”

“I’m game if for no other reason than it gives me an excuse to hit Jeff upside the head with snow,” Blaine grinned. “Kurt?” Kurt sighed.

“I suppose, but if my new boots get ruined I am shaving your head Jeffrey Sterling,” he replied.

The boys quickly threw on their jackets while Kurt suited up in his warmest winter gear. They marched outside laughing and joking, grabbing the rest of the Warblers as they went. Once outside, the boys divided into teams with Blaine leading one side and Wes the other. Kurt found himself on Wesley’s side with Nick while Jeff was on Blaine’s. Soon snowballs were flying through the air. Kurt dodged and laughed and threw until his arms ached. He couldn’t ever remember having so much fun.

Twenty minutes into the fight, Kurt, Wes, and Nick found themselves pinned into a corner of the school gardens by Blaine, Jeff, and Thad. Wes peered intently around the hedge they were hiding behind his eyes narrowed.

“Ok, here’s the plan,” Wes said. “Nick you’re going to break to the left and draw off Jeff. I’ll go straight at them and take out Thad. Kurt, you sneak around the side and get Blaine. Questions?”

“Get Blaine?” Kurt said doubtfully. “How exactly am I supposed to do that?”

“I don’t know. Improvise Kurt,” Wes shrugged. “Ready? Go!”

Suddenly all hell broke loose. Nick took off running so fast that Kurt could barely see him. A blur which Kurt assumed was Jeff took off after him laughing maniacally. With a screaming war cry, Wes jumped the hedge pelting snowballs at Thad with lightning speed. Muttering to himself about idiot vampires and improvising, Kurt darted off to the right, doing his best to stay under cover and circle around behind Blaine. Making the best use he could of his brief stint on McKinley’s football team, Kurt dove at Blaine knocking him off his feet and into the snow in what was an almost text book tackle. Blaine let out a surprised oof, before quickly rolling Kurt underneath him.

“Pinned ya again,” Blaine grinned quoting The Lion King which he and Kurt had just watched the night before. 

“Does that make me Simba or Nala?” Kurt smirked, giggling as Blaine shook his head sending the snow which coated his hair flying. His curls were springing free of the gel and Kurt couldn’t help but wish that would happen more often.

“Not sure which one you’d be, either way you’re beautiful,” Blaine breathed, the feel of Kurt, so warm, underneath him, the feel of his heart beating was too much for Blaine to resist. He leaned down closing his eyes his lips a mere hair’s breadth away from Kurt’s. He felt Kurt’s arms circle around his neck, but just when he’d thought finally he and Kurt would stop this dance they’d been doing, he felt the icy cold snow Kurt had shoved down his back.

“Oh my God Kurt!!! I cannot believe you just did that,” Blaine squealed jumping up and trying to shake the snow out of his shirt. It wasn’t like the cold hurt him, but it still wasn’t exactly a pleasant sensation. Kurt lay in the snow hopelessly giggling at Blaine’s futile efforts.

“You should see your face,” Kurt laughed. 

“Oh really?” Blaine said, scooping up a handful of snow and dumping it on Kurt. “Wonder if it looked anything like yours?”

Shrieking, Kurt scooped up his own handful of snow and flung it at Blaine. Soon both boys were snow covered and giggling, Blaine’s hair was completely free of its gel, Kurt’s boots were more than likely ruined, and neither one of them could bring themselves to care one iota. As they lay back in the snow trying to catch their breath, Blaine shyly took Kurt’s hand in his, smiling brightly and quietly thanking Jeff when Kurt not only didn’t pull away, but scooted subtly closer.

*****

“Hey, Kurt.” The voice jolted Kurt out of his thoughts. He looked up smiling when he saw who was approaching him.

“Hi Noel,” Kurt said politely. “What’s going on?”

Noel Parker was in a couple of Kurt’s classes. He was a genuinely nice guy and a whole lot less confusing to Kurt than Blaine was. Kurt stretched, realizing suddenly that he had been in the library for hours. He knew he was avoiding things by studying here, but if he studied in their room, he found himself doing a lot more staring at Blaine and not nearly enough learning. How the hell was he supposed to deal with a crush on a vampire of all people especially a vampire prince like Blaine?

“Listen, I hope that I am not being too forward, but would you like to go out this weekend? Like on a real date?” Noel rushed out his words. 

Kurt stared at the other boy for a few moments, sure he looked like an idiot, but it was taking him time to process what had just been said. Kurt was shocked that someone wanted to date him, regardless if the other boy was a vampire or not. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to decide what to say before finally just taking a deep breath and blurting out what he was feeling.

Kurt was so shocked that someone wanted to date him, regardless if the other boy was a vampire or not. “Listen, Noel, I think you are a great friend and all, but I’m not ready to date anyone right now.”

“Hey, it’s okay, Kurt. No hard feelings or anything like that. But when you are ready to date, I’ll be here.” Noel gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and left the library.

Kurt sat back in his chair completely stunned…someone had asked him out on a date. Someone who was a vampire wanted to spend more time with him, unfortunately it wasn’t the one Kurt wanted it to be. If he thought he’d been confused before, it was nothing to how he was feeling now. He found himself on auto-pilot packing up his things and retreating to his dorm room.

Blaine looked up smiling as Kurt entered their room. The smile almost instantly died on his face as he took in Kurt’s expression and the way he came into the room, dropping his things on the floor and sitting down hard on the bed. Kurt was almost obsessively neat and orderly with his things. This was not like him at all.

“Kurt, what’s wrong?” Blaine asked. “Did someone do something to you?”

“No, Blaine. I’m fine. I can handle things on my own sometimes.”

“I know, Kurt. I’m just worried. You’re not acting like yourself. What’s going on?” Blaine asked sitting down next to him and placing a hand on his leg.

“Noel Parker asked me out on a date.” Kurt said in the silence of the room.

“He did what?” Blaine growled.

“He asked me out on a date…a real date. Like dinner and a movie date.” Kurt was just so shell-shocked still.

“Oh… I see,” Blaine said tightly. Clenching his jaw, he clamped down on his feelings because Kurt didn’t need more drama right now. He would not hunt Noel down and rip his face off, as much as he might want to at the moment.

“No one has ever asked me out, Blaine. No one has wanted to date me. And the first time I get asked out, it’s by a vampire.” Kurt said turning confused luminous blue eyes on him and giving vent to his tangled feelings about the situation.

“What did you say?” Blaine asked trying to be supportive, while still battling down the urge to rip Noel’s head from his body.

“No, of course. I told him I wasn’t ready to date, but I’m not sure if that’s true. I mean, I didn’t want to go out with him, but there’s” Kurt stuttered looking up at Blaine and biting his lips before taking a deep breath and continuing. “I think there might be someone but…”

“It’s okay, Kurt. Just tell me what’s going on,” Blaine said, feeling both utterly confused and giddily hopeful at Kurt’s words.

“I… there’s someone that I have feelings for… strong feelings but… I don’t know if he… and aside from that, how am I supposed to date anyone? How am I supposed to let someone in to my life like that after what Karofsky did to me? Will anyone be able to accept how damaged I am? I’m just so confused.” Kurt said. Blaine wrapped him in a hug, trying to set aside his own feelings to help Kurt.

“Look at me,” Blaine commanded. “You are not damaged and I don’t want you thinking like that. When the time is right, when you are ready, it will happen. Maybe that person you have feelings for feels the exact same way about you. Maybe he cares about you more than anyone or anything in this world and will do everything in his power to make you happy and comfortable. Maybe he’s just waiting for you to be ready.”

“I hope so, Blaine. I’m tired of being lonely and I want someone to love me.” Kurt lamented.

Blaine remained silent, thinking to himself, oh Kurt, don’t you know, someone already does.

****

He lay awake that night staring at the ceiling. He knew things were reaching the point of no return for him with Kurt. He loved the boy. There was no question in his mind of that, what he was significantly less sure of, were Kurt’s feelings for him. He didn’t want to be alone for the rest of his life, but he knew if things didn’t work with Kurt, he would be. The prospect was daunting, and more than a little frightening to him. Maybe he should talk to his dad about transferring, getting away before he got in any deeper, maybe then he’d have a shot of finding someone else.

“No.”

The soft cry, almost an answer to his tortured musings, tore him out of his thoughts.

“Kurt? Are you ok?”

“No,” Kurt whimpered. “Please… I won’t tell! Please… I’m sorry… Don’t hurt me… David please!”

“Shit!” Blaine said, realizing that Kurt was having a nightmare. He quickly flung off his blankets and hurried over to Kurt’s bed. “Kurt? Wake up! Come on baby.”

Kurt was thrashing now, practically sobbing in his sleep as his cries got increasingly more frantic. Blaine knew he had to do something. He couldn’t watch Kurt go through this, but he was afraid to actually reach out and touch Kurt to wake him. In his confusion and terror from the dream, he might mistake Blaine for Karofsky, and Blaine didn’t think he could bear to see Kurt’s terror directed at him.

He hated to do it, but he knew it was his only option. Centering himself, Blaine pushed his mind out towards Kurt reaching into his dream. He caught brief flashes of a huge terrifying figure pressing Kurt into the ground, his clothes torn and bloodied as he lay helpless. With a primal roar, he charged, ripping the figure off of Kurt and dissolving it into a million pieces before turning back to the boy on the ground. Gently, he reached out, running his hand down Kurt’s cheek. He leaned in softly kissing his lips as he longed to do in real life. 

“He’s gone, Kurt. You’re alright. You can wake up now my love,” Blaine blinked, disoriented as he came back to his body and found himself staring to Kurt’s startled but completely awake eyes.

“Blaine?” Kurt questioned, confused.

“It’s okay,” Blaine reassured him running the back of his hand down Kurt’s cheek, much as he’d done in the dream. “It was just a nightmare. I woke you up. It’s over now.”

With a sob, Kurt threw himself at Blaine, clinging to him as if his life depended on it. Blaine shushed him, rubbing his back and almost instinctively starting to sing to him. 

How long they sat like that, Blaine didn’t know, but Kurt eventually calmed, laying back down in his bed and pulling Blaine down alongside him. The human curled into the vampire resting his head on his chest and continuing to listen to him sing.

“You really are talented, Blaine.” Kurt said after a while, his voice husky from crying. ”Are you going to try for a career in music?”

“If I had the freedom to choose, I probably would, but I don’t have a choice. I’m a prince Kurt, someday I’ll be a king, but I will never be a singer.”

“I’m sorry,” Kurt murmured as his eyes drifted closed once more, although whether it was for having to deal with his nightmare, because he had no freedom to choose, or because Kurt couldn’t yet give him what he craved so badly Blaine didn’t know. At this moment, all he cared about was that the boy he loved was safely in his arms. Still humming softly, Blaine soon followed Kurt into sleep.

****

Before Kurt knew it, mid-terms were upon them. All of the boys were growing rather frantic between studying for their tests and getting ready for the rapidly approaching regionals. Nick and Jeff were almost constantly at each other’s throats, bickering and arguing over the littlest things. Wes was often to be seen muttering to himself about song lists and English papers. Kurt was working himself to exhaustion. Blaine on the other hand was eerily calm and composed, a sure sign, Nick informed Kurt, that there was going to be an imminent explosion and anyone within reach had better run.

The Friday afternoon before midterms found all five boys in the common room studying, a rarity for a Friday because Kurt usually went home for family dinners. This week, however, he wouldn’t be going home until Saturday afternoon because, instead of their usual dinner, Carole would be holding a party for Burt’s birthday. He smiled to himself as he remembered Blaine would be going with him. It somehow boosted his confidence for what he was fairly certain would be an uncomfortable experience for him.

“I cannot study one second longer!” Jeff exclaimed throwing his book down on the table. “It’s FRIDAY!!! We are in the prime of our lives. We should be having fun not working ourselves into dust.”

“Dramatic much, Jeffery?” Nick murmured.

“Always,” Jeff affably agreed. “But I’m right. I hereby declare tonight a Warbler party night! No more studying for any of us! We’re all going to go crazy if we keep this up.”

“Yes!” Wes whooped having been ignoring Jeff. “I have officially finished the essay from hell!”

“Sounds like a reason for a party to me!” Jeff cheered.

“No Jeffrey,” Blaine said simply not even looking up from the power point he was working on.

“Oh come on, Blaine. Lighten up,” Jeff whined. “I’ll bet Kurt would like to party with us, wouldn’t you Kurtie?” Jeff sat down rather unceremoniously on Kurt’s lap and laid his head on his shoulder. “Tell Blaine how awesome it would be.”

“I… umm…” Kurt said slightly panicked looking his heart speeding up. Blaine looked up at Jeff snarling, teeth bared. Jeff quickly removed himself from Kurt, hands held up in a gesture of surrender.

“Sorry… sorry I wasn’t thinking, but it just proves my point. We all need a break. Come on Blaine. It’s just one night,” Jeff said. Blaine sighed, fighting down his temper.

“Fine but let’s try to keep the chaos to a minimum,” he said.

“WOO!” Jeff danced, pulling Nick’s book away from him. “Come on Nick my darling! Let’s go get supplies! Kurt, what should we get for you?”

“Nothing,” Kurt said simply. “I’m not really in the partying mood tonight. I think I may just turn in early.”

“But Kurt…” Jeff started to protest.

“Leave him be Jeff,” Blaine said. “Kurt, you know you are more than welcome to join us, but no one will force you.”

“Thanks Blaine,” Kurt said smiling and gathering up his things before retreating to his room.

 

He was woken several hours later by the sound of a large bang on his dorm room door. 

“What on earth?” Kurt muttered getting out of bed and yanking his door open, his eyes widening in shock at the sight that met him. On the floor just outside his door was a pile of tangled Warblers with a loudly yelling, clearly drunk Blaine on the bottom of it.

“Get off of me dammit! I have to talk to Kurt! He needs to know. He needs to!” Blaine slurred.

“Shut up Blaine. You’re going to regret this in the morning,” Wes said pulling Blaine up and trying to drag him down the hall. “God damn it! Puck, help me!”

“Puck? What are you doing here? What the hell is going on?” Kurt demanded. It seemed the sound of his voice was everyone’s first clue that Kurt was now privy to what was going on.

“Hey Porcelain!” Puck greeted, ducking Blaine’s swinging fist. “Party got a little out of hand so Wes called me in for reinforcements.” He quickly ducked once more tackling Blaine and throwing him over his shoulder.

“I am your prince. I order you to let me go Puck or… or I’ll have you beheaded at first light!” Blaine hollered

“You won’t remember any of this in the morning.” Puck said with a smirk. “Kurt might though.”

“KURT!” Blaine shouted. “Kurtie baby! You’re beautiful and sexy and you smell so good and I just want to…” Blaine was suddenly cut off by Nick’s hand over his mouth.

“Ooookaayy, Blaine let’s keep this PG please. Ewwww! Do not lick me Anderson!” Nick said quickly pulling his hand back as Blaine giggled. “Get him back to the Common Room. Kurt, why don’t you sleep in my room tonight?” Nick grabbed Kurt forcefully pulling him across the hall to his room while Puck, Wes, Jeff, Thad, and Trent dragged a still protesting Blaine down the hall.

“What the hell was that?” Kurt demanded as the door shut behind him. Nick sighed.

“That was entirely Jeff’s fault. He decided that Blaine needed to unwind so he slipped him some enriched blood.”

“Enriched blood?” Kurt asked. Nick nodded.

“Blood that has had something added to it… in this case, alcohol. Only Jeff forgot that Blaine never drinks and that there is a reason for that. He has the lowest tolerance for that stuff of anyone I’ve ever seen. He has been trying to get down here to you for over an hour. We had to call Puck to help us. Hopefully he’ll pass out soon,” Nick said tiredly.

“Why was he trying to get to me?” Kurt asked nervously. Nick chuckled.

“You couldn’t tell? The idiot decided to wait until he was drunk off his ass to finally confess his feelings to you. He loves you Kurt, but I think you know that already, don’t you?”

“Yes” Kurt admitted. “I just don’t know what to do about it. He’s amazing and I really, really care about him, but sometimes when I’m around you guys… when I’m around him I just… You guys shouldn’t have to hide who you are here and I try to be okay with it, but sometimes I’m not. You’re my friends and I know you would never hurt me. Why can’t I get over this?”

“It takes time, Kurt, and I know I’ve told you that we all have our scars.” Nick gently reminded the other boy. “Yours are a lot like mine. Before I came to Dalton, I was attacked by a group of guys in the locker room. My old school was really conservative. To them, I was nothing more than turned trash.”

“I thought you were a born vampire.”

“I was born a vampire, but both of my parents are turned. More conservative families don’t consider you to be a born vampire until the third generation.”

“What did they do to you?”

“This.” Nick pulled his tee-shirt down a bit. Kurt’s eyes widened as he took in the ‘T’ branded on his friends’ skin. “They held me down, branded me, beat me up and then they…” Nick paused swallowing convulsively. “They took turns… with me…it wasn’t pretty and only a few people know the details, but I’m sure you can put it together. You’re pretty smart, Kurt.” 

Kurt looked at Nick and had that ‘oh my God’ moment. “Nick…”

“My boyfriend at the time was there and he just let them. No one helped me.”

“How did you get through it?”

“Who says I have? It’s been almost two and a half years since it happened.” Nick softly said. “There are still moments when someone moves too quickly or I catch a scent of cologne or when someone grabs my arm from behind. It all comes rushing back so fast and hits me like a ton of bricks, but you know what I learned?”

“What?”

“That I’m not alone. I don’t have to be. The guys knew how to help me when I finally let them in. They want to help you too Kurt. We all do. We are here for you when you want us to be. Kurt, you can’t put your life on hold like I did mine. I’ve missed a lot of important stuff and I don’t want to see you do the same.”

“Do you mean stuff with Jeff?” Kurt asked.

Nick gave a sad smile. “I don’t want you and Blaine to be like us. Lately it seems like all we do is fight and I just… Kurt, you can’t let this stop you from loving him… from being happy.”

“But what if I can’t get past what happened to me? I don’t want him to have to deal with my issues forever.”

“When you really care about someone, you’re in for all the good and all the bad. You won’t know unless you try.” Nick said. “Now come on, you can sleep in Jeff’s bed tonight. He’s going to be busy with Blaine anyway.”

Kurt surprisingly fell asleep almost instantly and woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. Sitting up, he couldn’t stop the smile when he glanced over at Nick’s bed and saw Jeff curled up by Nick’s side sound asleep and snoring slightly. Nick’s hands were laced in the blonde’s hair as if he had been running his fingers through it in his sleep. There was still hope for the two of them, whether Nick believed it or not. Kurt slipped out of the bed, tiptoed out of the room, and quietly entered his own dorm. He clucked his tongue at the site that met him. 

Blaine lay sprawled across Kurt’s bed, his face firmly buried in Kurt’s pillow. He still had on his pants and tie from the day before, although somehow his shirt and one shoe were missing. The curls Blaine worked so hard to hide were in wild disarray around his head. Sighing, Kurt moved over to Blaine gently removing the remaining shoe before pulling up the covers around him. The vampire prince let out a low groan. Biting his lip, Kurt reached out a gentle hand and smoothed down Blaine’s errant curls.

“Mmmm… Kurt,” Blaine mumbled sleepily.

“Go back to sleep Blaine,” Kurt soothed. With a sound that was somewhere between a purr and a groan, Blaine snuggled deeper into Kurt’s pillow inhaling deeply and once more mumbling Kurt’s name with a sigh.

Kurt’s mind was brought sharply back to Nick’s words from the night before about how Blaine felt about him and how Kurt shouldn’t let that slip away. He frowned as he quickly gathered his things and headed to the en suite bathroom. He took his time with his shower and morning routine, letting his thoughts wander as he tried to decide how he should handle the situation with Blaine. By the time he finally made his way out of the bathroom, his hair damp, Blaine was on his back with his arm over his eyes.

“Please just stake me now and put me out of my misery,” he groaned. Kurt chuckled.

“Feeling a little under the weather are we?” Kurt said.

“Ugghnn,” Blaine groaned in what Kurt assumed was an affirmative.

“And have we learned a valuable lesson?”

“Yes. Never, ever accept a drink from Jeff Sterling.” 

“Could be worse.” Kurt said. “The first time I got drunk, I puked all over my guidance counselor’s shoes.”

“Oh my god.” Blaine moaned. “Please don’t say puke.”

“Do you remember any of last night?”

“Ummm…” Blaine mumbled rubbing his eyes. “Not much. I remember Jeff handing me a drink and… You… I had to talk to you and I think I punched Wes maybe.” Blaine paused frowning. “Did I threaten to behead Puck? Why was he even here? Oh God! Please tell me that I didn’t do anything embarrassing.”

“Nothing much. Just ran down the hallway declaring me beautiful and sexy and amazing.” Kurt said grinning.

“Oh God!” Blaine said again, covering up his face with Kurt’s pillow before quickly removing it and sitting up slightly. “Wait a minute… why am I in your bed?”

“You don’t remember?’ Kurt said, letting his lip tremble and assuming a hurt expression. Sheer panic flashed across Blaine’s face.

“I didn’t…. I mean we didn’t…” Blaine stuttered. Unable to keep up his teasing, Kurt began to laugh.

“Relax Blaine I was teasing, we didn’t do anything. That’s what you get for interrupting my beauty sleep with your drunken ranting last night. However, as to why you are in my bed, I have no clue. I assume you passed out there, but I was across the hall in Nick’s room by then.”

“Kurt, I am so… so…so sorry,” Blaine said looking mortified.

“It’s okay, Blaine. It’s actually sort of flattering. You look horrible by the way. Do you want me to go get you something? A cool washcloth for your head or maybe something to settle your stomach?”

“Why are you being so nice to me when I was an idiot?”

“It wasn’t your fault. It was your stupid friends.” Kurt said smiling. He looked down, biting his lip before taking a deep breath and adding… ”You are so important to me Blaine, more important than I am quite ready to admit. I’ll always do my best to be there when you need me …even when you’re being an idiot.”

“Kurt,” Blaine breathed his eyes wide. Kurt put a finger to Blaine’s lips.

“Shhh… You don’t need to say it I know, and I’m almost ready to hear it. For now, go back to sleep Blaine. You’ll feel better when you wake up. I’ll get Nick to go to my Dad’s party with me,” Kurt ordered as he gently began to run his fingers through Blaine’s hair once more. With a contented smile, Blaine closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.


	11. Chapter Eleven

“When the potential mate involved is a human, any infractions of the mating laws involved shall fall under the jurisdiction of the human government until such time as the claim is made official. Once an official declaration of intent has been made and accepted and the potential mate officially becomes the chosen one of a vampire, vampire laws and regulations take precedence.”

-Article 22 Section 14 of the Treaty of Ohio between the Government of the United States and the Sovereign Clans of the Vampire Covens

 

Kurt and Nick pulled into the driveway at the house.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight.” Kurt looked over at his friend as he turned the car off. He was internally steeling himself for facing the family and anyone else that might be there.

“Nonsense. Blaine didn’t want you coming here by yourself and since he was a little worse for wear thanks to Jeff, you’re stuck with me.” Nick wasn’t about to disregard an order from the prince and his friend.

“You’re wonderful company, Nick, and one of my best friends. I’m glad you’re here with me, but listen, don’t pay any attention to anything Carole has to say.” Kurt told his friend. “She is going to take this opportunity to do everything in her power to humiliate and embarrass me tonight.”

“I’ve dealt with people like her before, Kurt. Nothing she would say or do could bother me. You are my friend and she is just a jealous bitch.” Nick reassured him as they walked up the driveway. “Let’s do this.”

“Here goes nothing,” Kurt muttered as he opened the front door.

The party was already in full swing in the living room. The house was filled with more people than Kurt had thought would be there. He introduced Nick to some of the guys from the garage as he made his way around the groups of people. Everyone they had met so far was very welcoming of Nick, but as he spotted a few familiar faces, Kurt had a feeling that was about to change.

“That is certainly interesting.” Kurt motioned to Nick as Rachel and Quinn glared at each other across the room. At the moment, Finn was carefully avoiding both girls.

When Carole spotted Nick and Kurt, she bustled over to them looking less than pleased. “Kurt, what are you doing here?”

“It is my father’s birthday, Carole. Where else would I be?” Kurt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 

“You didn’t ask if you could bring a guest.” Carole snapped. “Perhaps you should have run that by me first instead of just assuming it would be okay. Do you know how hard I worked to plan this party on my own? Don’t you have any respect for other people’s hard work?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hummel. I don’t mean to intrude,” Nick apologized, a little surprised at both her rudeness and the level of vehemence in her voice.

“You don’t need to apologize Nick, besides Finn has two guests here. Who is he dating this week, Carole? Rachel or Quinn…or are they all ‘together’? That’s a little kinky, don’t you think? I didn’t realize this was a sister wife thing. Does my dad know because I’m sure he could find someone, too.” Kurt said innocently, not quite able hide his smirk.

Carole’s mouth gaped open in shock as Nick chortled a laugh behind his hand. 

“You are a sick and disgusting little boy, Kurt,” she sneered. She glared at him hard and stormed off, plastering a smile on her face as she talked to other guests.  
“That was sort of amazing. I didn’t think you had it in you, Kurt.” Nick said, wildly impressed.

“I usually try to refrain from behaving like that. If my dad hadn’t mentioned the party to me earlier in the week, I wouldn’t have even known about it and honestly I have about had it with her.” Kurt was a bit ashamed that Nick had seen his bitchy display.

“Hopefully the evening will get better.” Nick suggested lightly. He was pretty sure the evening was only going to go downhill from here as he caught glares from Rachel and Quinn and Finn. 

“You have way too high of hopes, you know that?” Kurt laughed depreciatingly. 

“Someone has to look on the bright side.” Nick remarked.

“I don’t even think looking on the bright side could help this out, Nick. Oh look, it must be time for presents.” Kurt acidly remarked as he watched Carole hovering over his dad with a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face.

“This is from all of us.” Carole said cheerfully to her husband as she gave him an intricately wrapped box.

“Thank you dear.” Burt took the gift with a smile, wondering if Kurt had been the one to wrap the box. Frowning, he noticed that the card on the top had only been signed from Carole and Finn. It was with a heavy heart and a sinking feeling in his stomach that he opened the gift. 

“I thought you would enjoy seeing pictures of your family and the happy moments you have shared with them.” Carole beamed.

“It’s a…thoughtful gift, Carole.” Burt placed the photo album to the side after flipping through it, realizing there were no pictures of Kurt in the album at all. He continued to open gifts, resolving to have yet another serious talk with his ‘wife’ later when Kurt had returned to Dalton for the evening. He was rapidly losing his patience with this behavior from her.

Kurt watched his father continue to open his gifts and was thrilled that Burt seemed excited about the gift from Kurt, declaring it his favorite one of the evening. It was just a simple clock for the garage that he’d had personalized at a boutique in Westerville. Once gifts were opened, it was time for cake. Kurt and Nick retreated to a corner of the room to talk.

“Nice to know that I was included in the family gift selection.” Kurt murmured as he viciously stabbed his cake, nearly going through the cheap Styrofoam plate. Nick heard the whispered words and threw an arm around Kurt to comfort his friend. Kurt gave him a grateful smile.

“Really?” Finn complained, overhearing Kurt’s bitter words. “Can’t we just get through one night without your drama? And are there any of those Dalton guys you aren’t doing?”

“Oh, we’re just friends and for the record, Kurt isn’t ‘doing’ any of us. Although that does remind me, I forgot to tell you, Finn. Jeff sends his regards. He’s really looking forward to seeing you again. You really should come to Dalton and visit.” Nick smirked, knowing the thought of Jeff would send Finn running in the other direction.

“Do you mind?” Carole hissed seeing the confrontation between the boys. “We are trying to have a birthday party for Burt and you are just being rude.”

“I’m being rude, Carole? You’re the one who gave him a family photo album and didn’t include the whole family.” Kurt glared at her. 

“Kurt, I said I was including happy memories and you’ve never brought your father anything but grief. I bet he regrets the day you were born.” Carole snapped.

Nick was ready to tear her dyed roots from her head. Kurt put a restraining hand on Nick’s arm when he saw the vampire’s eyes go that flat angry red. “Don’t Nick. She’s not worth it. Besides, she knows if my father heard what she was saying…she’d be out on her fat ass with nothing.”

“Don’t you talk to me like that. I am your mother. You will respect me.” Carole snarled.

“My mother is dead and you lost any chance of respect from me a long time ago.” Kurt worked to keep calm because he did not want to upset his father and ruin his birthday.

“When are you leaving?” Carole asked. “Because as far as I’m concerned, you are not welcome here.” She spun on her heel toward her husband and proceeded to fawn over him, playing the part of the devoted wife.

Nick was livid. “Kurt, this isn’t right.”

“I know, but at least I had the good sense to bring my own gift for dad tonight.” Kurt had planned for this because he didn’t trust Carole for a second. “As much as I would like to slap the taste out of her mouth, I would never dare to ruin his night like that. My father may be blind to her right now, but at some point, he will wake up and see her for what she is.”

“Ready to go back to Dalton? Blaine will be awake by now and is probably worried sick.” Nick asked when Kurt was finished with the cake he had mutilated.

“Yeah, let’s go home.” Kurt sat down the plate on a table and went in search of his Dad to tell him good-bye. He found his father in the kitchen, blissfully alone for the moment. “Dad, Nick and I are heading out.”

“So soon?” Burt asked because he hadn’t gotten a moment alone with Kurt for the entire party.

“I think it would be best to head back now.” Kurt answered honestly, ready to be out of a house he didn’t feel was home any longer. His dorm room with Blaine felt more like home right now.

“Don’t let them drive you out of here, bud.” Burt sadly said moving to hug his son, wishing desperately that there was something he could do….anything to make it better.

“I love you dad, but they already have.” Kurt hugged his father back briefly and left him standing silently in the kitchen. He headed up the stairs to his room to grab his coat and was shocked to find Finn waiting on him. He was so sick of this.

“What are you doing in my room Frankenteen?” Kurt said tiredly.

“Waiting for you. You can’t treat my Mom the way you do and get away with it,” Finn glared.

“Treat your Mom the way I do?” Kurt asked in disbelief. “What about how she treats me?”

“She’s just trying to help you Kurt,” Finn defended.

“That’s bullshit and you know it. She hates me, almost as much as you do. She’s been trying to cut me out of my father’s life for months. She is nothing but a manipulative bitch,” Kurt growled, gasping as Finn grabbed him slamming against the wall.

“You take that back, Kurt, or I will fucking kill you. I swear to God I will,” Finn growled. 

Panicked, Kurt did what came instinctively after all the years of bullying he’d faced. He brought his knee up sharply into the other boy’s groin causing him to release Kurt and double over in pain. Kurt quickly darted out of the room, down the stairs and out the door to the car where Nick was waiting. He got in slamming the door behind him and buckling his seat belt before taking off.

“Kurt? Are you ok? What happened?” Nick demanded.

“Nothing, I’m fine, just a fight with Finn,” Kurt said his voice sounding shaky even to his own ears.

“He didn’t…” Nick began.

“I said I was fine, Nick,” Kurt snapped. Nick raised an eyebrow in shock at the tone in Kurt’s voice. Kurt took a deep steadying breath. “I’m sorry. He just makes me really angry sometimes, but I really am fine.”

Nick nodded, not really believing him, but understanding that Kurt would tell him what was really going on when he was ready. In the meantime, he would make sure that Finn Hudson kept his distance from his friend.

*******

Kurt had almost forgotten about the incident by Monday morning, but it was brought sharply back to the forefront of his mind by a startled gasp from Blaine. He was in his dorm room changing into his shirt when his roommate walked out of the bathroom.

“Oh my god, Kurt. What happened to your back?” Blaine asked.

“Oh, I tripped.” Kurt lied and continued to get dressed, already feeling vulnerable.

“Kurt, you know I can tell when you’re lying to me, right?” Blaine raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing happened, I’m fine. It’s just a couple of bruises.” Kurt tried to shrug it off.

“You have fingerprint marks on your arms. Who did this to you?” Blaine growled low in his throat.

“Look it was really no big deal and it was just as much my fault as Finn’s. Sometimes, I just can’t stop myself from saying things I know I shouldn’t.” Kurt tried to explain it away.

“Are you hurt anywhere else? Do you need to go to the doctor?” Blaine was genuinely concerned about his friend’s health and well-being. Kurt had already been through so much and he didn’t deserve this.

“It’s not that bad. Believe me, I’ve had worse.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better Kurt. What happened? And don’t sugar coat it.”

“Fine…we got into an argument at my dad’s party over the ‘family’ gift. I called his mother a deceitful bitch. He grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. I hit the light switch. It’s not like he got off scot free…he’ll be lucky if he’s able to reproduce. I don’t care how big you are, a knee to the crotch will take you down.”

Blaine was incredibly angry at the situation. “I can’t believe you’re being so blasé about this. Someone in your family attacked you. He’s supposed to be your brother.”

“Finn hasn’t ever been a brother to me. I’ve always suspected that he knew what Karofsky was doing to me, but I could never prove it.” Kurt admitted with a frown.

“It’s not right and someone should do something about it.” Blaine answered, already formulating a plan in his head.

“Please, Blaine. I have enough problems with my family as it is. Just let it go.” Kurt couldn’t take anymore family issues.

“Kurt, I can’t just stand around and let someone hurt you. It’s not in my nature. It’s instinctive for me to protect the people I really care about.” Blaine said.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t plan on going home any time soon and if I do, I promise I will avoid being alone with Finn.” Kurt offered the compromise.

“It’s a start,” Blaine muttered, determined to make sure that this was the last time Finn laid his hands on the boy he loved.

******

Three days later….

Finn sauntered to his car after a date with the new girl, April. He smiled to himself because he was rather pleased that she’d put out so easily and he didn’t even have to bring her flowers or candy like he did Quinn, even better, she wasn’t interested in conversation, like Rachel. In his stupor of happiness, he didn’t notice that all the street lights were out or the heavy silence in the neighborhood. He tossed his letterman’s jacket over his shoulder smiling as if he didn’t have a care in the world. His first clue that something wasn’t right was the tickle of breath on the back of his neck just before he felt himself being slammed into the side of his car.

“What the fuck!” Finn shouted, picking himself up off the ground and looking around for a perpetrator, but his eyes couldn’t penetrate the inky darkness around him.

There was a menacing chuckle as Finn was slammed into a nearby tree. “Okay this isn’t funny anymore assholes!” Finn shouted whipping his head back and forth, trying to see anyone or anything, but failing miserably.

“I don’t know…I’m finding it quite amusing.” A voice said just before he was grabbed yet again and thrown back into his car.

“Come out where I can see you! Fight like a man, you coward!” Finn shouted, scrambling painfully, holding his ribs, to the driver’s side door.

“Oh but we’re not men. We are sooo much more than you,” a different voice purred coldly. Finn was becoming truly scared now.

He was almost to the door, when a hand caught the back of his shirt and shoved him face first onto the rocky pavement. Finn felt his face scrape across the ground and tears came unbidden to his eyes. “Stop…please stop…just leave me alone.”

He was pulled up off the ground and shoved across the trunk of his car hard enough to leave a dent. Yet another voice hissed in his ear. Finn would always remember the menacing sound of it. It was the voice that he would hear in his nightmares.

“Every time you hurt him, we will come back and hurt you tenfold. Consider this a warning…next time, we won’t be so gentle. Remember, keep your hands to yourself, Hudson. I know where you sleep at night and nothing you can do will stop me. Am I clear?”

“Yeah.” Finn managed to stutter, just before a stony hand made contact with his face.

Finn didn’t know how he’d managed to get home, but limped through the front door only to be met by his distressed mother. This night which had started out so wonderfully had ended up a disaster. He’d been attacked and beaten, lost his letterman’s jacket, and now, had to deal with his mother.

“Finn! Oh my goodness baby! What happened to you?” Carole shrieked, running to her son’s side.

“I got mugged.” Finn said between painful breaths.

“We have to call the police and report this.” Carole was dismayed at the state of her son. She knew in her heart that he hadn’t been mugged, but bought his story for Finn to save face.

“Mom, I’m fine.” Finn painfully insisted.

“No, you are most certainly not okay, Finnegan Christopher Hudson!” Carole shouted at her son who had moved to the bottom of the stairs.

“Don’t mom. I want to go to bed. I’ll be fine in the morning.” Finn barked at his mother. He trudged up the stairs to his room, each step he took becoming more painful. He blindly fumbled for the light switch, turning it on, and stumbling for his bed, stopping short and beginning to tremble. There folded neatly and placed in the center of his bed waiting for him like a final reminder that they knew exactly where to find him was his lettermen’s jacket. He nearly ran out of the room. He’d sleep on the couch tonight.

\----

“Mornin’ Mrs. H,” Puck said as he sauntered in the next morning with a smirk on his face. “Finn home?”

“Yes he is, but I’m not sure…” Carole began.

“It’s fine, Mom,” Finn said, coming painfully down the stairs, his face a mass of scrapes and bruises. His hair was still damp as if he’d just gotten out of the shower, but Puck could smell the lingering traces of blood in it.

“Dude! What the hell happened to you?” Puck asked in faux concern.

“I got mugged leaving April’s house last night.” Finn practically spit out the words.

“Dude, that sucks. Someone beat you like a dog man, but I did try to warn you. That girl is bad news.” Puck said shaking his head because karma was a bitch.

“I really don’t need someone telling me that, Puckerman.” Finn growled.

“Then you learned your lesson? About dating trash, I mean.” Puck schooled his face. “It could be really dangerous to your health next time.”

“Trust me, I got the point and won’t be doing that again.” Finn answered.

“Good, never know what could happen out there.” Puck reminded his friend.

“Let’s play.” Finn turned on the game system, wanting to get what had happened the night before off his mind by killing mindless zombies. 

Puck busied himself setting up his controller so that Finn didn’t see the satisfied smile on his face.

 

Regionals…

Kurt paced around the green room they’d been given to wait until they were called to the stage. He couldn’t help but be nervous. He’d never performed a solo in front of an audience before and the guys all seemed to think that he was going to win the whole thing for them.

“I can’t do this. It’s going to be a disaster. I’m going to forget the words and we’re going to lose and all those idiots at McKinley will realize they were right,” he said his voice panicked.

“Kurt, you need to calm down. You’re going to make yourself crazy.” Nick just wished that Kurt would take a breath.

“This is my first solo, ever. I think I have a good reason to be nervous, Nicholas.” Kurt snapped.

“Kurt, honey, you are going to do fine.” Jeff said, trying to put the other boy at ease. “You will stun them with those golden pipes of yours.”

“It’s…it’s just…” Kurt couldn’t even form words.

“Kurt, we all understand how difficult this is going to be for you, but we all have confidence in you.” Wesley reassured him.

“There is a Mr. Hummel out here that wants to talk to Kurt.” One of the bodyguards Blaine’s father had insisted accompany them stuck his head in the door and called out. “He okay?”

“My dad is here?” Kurt was so pleased. “Send him in.”

“Hey, kiddo.” Burt smiled as he walked into the room. “I feel like I’m visiting a celebrity with all the muscle outside. You okay?”

“They’re here to protect Wes and Blaine and I am a nervous wreck.” Kurt admitted.

“Just do your best, bud. That’s all anyone can ask of you.” Burt told his son.

“Your father is right Kurt. Winning would be amazing, but it’s not like the world will end if we don’t,” Blaine said

“I just don’t want to disappoint anyone,” Kurt responded, biting his lip nervously.

“We’re a team Kurt… almost like our own little mini-coven. Rise or fall, we do it together. The responsibility isn’t on any one man’s shoulders. No one will be disappointed with you if we do lose ok?” Blaine told him.

“Thanks Blaine.” Kurt smiled at the other boy blushing. Burt watched his son and the kid he’d found studying with him a few weeks ago. He saw the way the other boy looked at his son and, more importantly, the way his son looked at the other boy. He cleared his throat awkwardly. 

“So umm… I should probably head back out there. Carole’s waiting,” he said. Kurt nodded.

“Yeah, better not keep her waiting. Thanks for coming Dad. It means a lot,” Kurt said hugging his father. 

“I wouldn’t have missed it Kurt. Good luck boys.” Burt called out before leaving the room.

 

The boys were dressed in their costumes, running through their songs one last time when the bodyguard stuck his head in with a cross expression on his face. “You have some more ‘visitors’ out here that want to come in and see Kurt. They are demanding to see him.”

“Who is it?” Wesley demanded an answer, not having a good feeling about any of this.

“Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry.”

“No freaking way.” Blaine growled.

“I don’t…I can’t see them.” Kurt shook his head.

“All right.” The bodyguard nodded and Kurt could hear Rachel screeching all the way down the hall, very unpleasant words coming from her mouth.

“What do you mean he won’t see us? Who does he think he is? That ungrateful, selfish, no-talent little… slut!”

With a low growl, Blaine yanked open the door and hissed a few curt words to the guards at the door. Within seconds, Rachel’s screeching was rather abruptly cut-off. Blaine smiled a coldly satisfied smile.

“Shall we pick up where we were before we were so rudely interrupted?”

\----

Kurt stepped onto the stage and into the light. He had a moment of feeling rather like a deer in the headlights, but then he caught Blaine’s gaze. He completely tuned out the audience and his fear and nervousness melted away. He took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and sang. He poured his emotions into every word of his duet. He knew he’d never sounded better. Blaine gave him a smile and launched into his own parts, his eyes never leaving Kurt.

Burt watched as his son sang to the other boy. He’d always though that his son had the voice of an angel. This just proved it. It was an amazing performance and the audience was completely entranced, until some members of New Directions started booing and hissing at the boys on stage. He glared at them, especially when he realized Finn was one of the ones doing it. He started to rise and give those kids a piece of his mind, but was beat to it by their teacher.

Will Schuester had never been more ashamed of his kids than in this moment. He couldn’t believe that Finn and Rachel were booing another school’s choir, especially one which contained one of their former members. He glanced at the judges who were casting disapproving looks at them. Will knew in that moment that they had just lost it all because of their rudeness and their hate.

Blaine heard the booing before Kurt and it only inspired him to sing better with Kurt. As for Kurt, he never faltered just held his chin high as the crystal clear notes poured from his mouth. Blaine felt himself swell with pride and love for the blue eyed human. The applause at the end of their duet was maddening and drowned out the booing from the one section of the audience. Ignoring the rudeness from Rachel and Finn, they went right into their closing song, finished, and took their bows before exiting the stage.

“You were amazing out there.” Blaine impulsively hugged Kurt.

“Thank you. It was so much fun. I’ve missed being on the stage.” Kurt admitted.

“Let’s go wait in the green room.” Nick suggested. “Unless you want to sit in the audience and listen to New Directions...”

“I can honestly say I have no desire to see them or hear them at all.” Kurt answered, having no desire to see people who were so angry and hateful toward him. The group waited quietly in the green room until Thad came back to report that results were in and that New Directions performance was met with an almost deafening silence afterwards. They made their way to the stage, Kurt pointedly ignoring his former friends.

\----

“Now, we come to the end of our contest. Please wait for all winners to be announced before leaving the stage.” The announcer said, reaching for the envelope. “Third place goes to the New Directions from Lima, Ohio.” 

Rachel’s screams of outrage nearly drowned out the announcer. “Second place is awarded to the Finches from Findley, Ohio. So, that means, The Warblers from Dalton Academy in Westerville are our Regional Winners and will go onto Nationals in New York. Congratulations to all our schools that participated. You all were wonderful and may leave the stage to celebrate. Thank you all for coming. We’ll see you next year.”

Kurt had never been hugged so much. He couldn’t believe that he would be going to New York after all.

The Warblers formed a protective circle around Kurt and Blaine as they made their way off stage, getting more congratulations from both the judges and the Finches from Findley. As much as Blaine wanted to carry the trophy, one of the other Warblers got that honor, so he could stay right beside Kurt.

“YOU STOP RIGHT THERE, KURT HUMMEL!” Rachel shouted loudly backstage. The Warblers didn’t stop and kept moving towards the exit from the stage.

“I SAID STOP!” Rachel shouted once more. “COWARD! YOU RAN AWAY FROM MCKINLEY AND NOW YOU’RE RUNNING AWAY AGAIN.” The Warblers paused for a moment as Nick spun on his heel and marched over to where the New Directions were all standing.

“You stupid self-centered little bitch.” Nick hissed. “You have no right to call anyone a coward when you’re too afraid to stand up for a person you once called your friend because you’re too worried about your reputation. You know what happened to Kurt was wrong. You know the way you’ve treated him is wrong and to call him a coward when he’s survived all he’s been through and come out of it stronger is possibly the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Don’t you talk to my girlfriend like that, vampire.” Finn stepped in front of Rachel.

Jeff stormed over to stand beside Nick. “I can drain you dry before anyone would even be able to touch me. You lay one finger on him, that’s exactly what will happen. Are we clear hot stuff?”

“You are just mesmerized by him.” Rachel hissed from behind Finn. “Kurt will betray you just like he betrayed us.”

“What in the world is going on here?” Will asked, walking up to the group, having caught the end of the conversation.

“They started it, Mr. Schue.” Rachel batted her eyes at him. “The vampires were the ones who wouldn’t leave us alone.”

“Somehow, I don’t think so, Rachel.” Will glared at the girl. “I think you owe The Warblers an apology for your deplorable behavior during their performance. Since when do we boo others on stage? Since when do we stoop to those kinds of levels? This is not what I expect from any of you and it will not happen again.”

Rachel looked horrified at the idea of being chastised in front of the Warblers. “But, Mr. Schue, Kurt betrayed us like no one else. You can’t seriously expect us to be happy for them.”

“You may not be happy for them, but you will act like you have some brains in your head from now on.” Will said, before turning to the other boys. “You guys gave a great performance and deserve to go to Nationals and Kurt, I’ve never heard you sing better. I’m so proud of you, not just for your performance today, but for all you’ve overcome. It’s good to see you happy.”

“Thanks Mr. Schue, that means lot.” Kurt was touched by the man’s words.

“You all performed exceptionally well today and good luck in New York.” Mr. Schue said before turning back to his own choir. “You guys to the bus… NOW!”

“Thank you, sir. We appreciate your lovely words.” Jeff said waving tauntingly at Finn and Rachel. “We will be taking our leave now.”

“KURT!” Rachel shouted ignoring her teacher. She darted between Trent and Thad and made a grab for Kurt’s shirt. She never even got close. Blaine stepped between them, hissing at the girl, baring his fangs. His eyes had gone from warm hazel to feral red in seconds as he glared at Kurt’s attacker. Rachel backed up, her eyes wide and fearful. He then put a protective arm around Kurt and ushered him from the building.


	12. Chapter Twelve

“To be the human pursued by a vampire is a powerful and heady experience. To know that you hold the heart and soul of one of the most powerful and dangerous creatures on earth in the palm of your frail hand is both awe inspiring and terrifying, especially when you know that you, in turn, are completely theirs.”

-an excerpt from The Journals of Mina Harker Tepes

 

Kurt was still in a happy daze as he sat chatting Nick waiting for the first post regionals Warbler meeting, and not just because they were going to Nationals. Ever since the scene with Rachel, Blaine had been oddly protective of Kurt. He only left Kurt’s side when absolutely necessary, and he had begun to get very physically affectionate with Kurt as well. He was constantly touching him just in passing. If they were sitting near each other, he would grab Kurt’s hand holding it or put an almost possessive arm around him as he was doing now. Kurt was somewhat shocked to discover that he really didn’t mind… in fact, he almost craved the other boys touch. 

He knew the two of them were stirring up a lot of gossip around the school, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, whatever was developing between him and Blaine was too special to let idle gossip interfere with it. He smiled snuggling into Blaine’s side as Wesley rose to speak.

“Okay, everyone can I have your attention please…” he paused, waiting for everyone to settle down. “The Board of Governors of Dalton, in conjunction with the Council, has decided to host a ball in honor of the Warblers advancing to Nationals in New York.” A chorus of cheers and excited babbling erupted. 

Wes waited patiently for the room to settle down once again before finishing. “We are all expected to be there in our finest attire. And yes, that does include you Kurt.”

Kurt was stunned. “I can’t possibly attend a ball. It wouldn’t be right. I’m human and not even a slightly important human at that.”

“Kurt, you are one of us and we want you there.” Wes answered firmly, putting any doubts out of the boy’s mind.

“I can’t…I mean…aren’t we supposed to bring dates?” Kurt blushed, thinking that there was no way he could show up without a date for this event and finding a date in Ohio wasn’t going to happen. He wished he could go with Blaine, but the odds of that happening were slim. Blaine was a prince and he… well… wasn’t.

“You can bring a date if you want. It is usually expected, but you don’t have to. I really don’t think it’s something you need to worry much about,” Wes said, hoping his cousin would get his head out of his ass and just ask the boy.

“I’m taking Nick as my date.” Jeff announced to everyone in the room.

“Perhaps you want to ask me first.” Nick dryly said, giving Jeff a significant look. Jeff immediately dropped to one knee in front of Nick. He took both of the boy’s hands in his kissing them loudly and dramatically before beginning.

“My darling stunning, amazing, fantabulous Nicholas, would you do me the honor of please accompanying me to our ball?” Jeff looked up at Nick with his usual smirk firmly in place, but Kurt couldn’t help but see a tiny spark of hope mixed with desperation in Jeff’s eyes.

“If nothing else, I can keep you from completely embarrassing the Warblers.” Nick sighed and shook his head, but he couldn’t stop the small smile that played around his mouth at the thought of dancing with Jeff and the way his eyes gleamed with joy told Kurt that it would be a night to remember. He almost didn’t care that he would be going alone and embarrassed, just to see his friends happiness.

“Kurt, wait up!” Blaine called hurrying to catch up with the blue eyed boy who had left the meeting as soon as Wes declared it over. He hadn’t wanted to listen to everyone discussing the ball. 

“Why’d you take off like that?”

“I have a lot of homework,” Kurt muttered.

“Ahhh… I see,” Blaine said sounding uncharacteristically awkward. “Umm can we maybe go someplace for a second and talk?”

“Sure,” Kurt said with a frown as Blaine pulled him into a nearby empty classroom. “Is everything okay, Blaine?”

“It’s good… fine… at least I hope so,” Blaine murmured. “So… umm… got anyone in mind to go to the Ball with?”

Kurt laughed mirthlessly. “Yeah, right. Who could possibly be interested in going to the ball with me?”

“I would.” Blaine said. 

“What?” Kurt was in shock.

“I would. That’s what I pulled you in here for,” Blaine said. Stepping closer to Kurt and taking his hand, Blaine looked intensely into the human’s beautiful blue eyes. “Kurt Hummel, would you accompany me to the Governor’s Ball?”

“What?”

“We can just go as friends if you’re more comfortable with that,” Blaine answered, taking the pressure off of Kurt. “Please? I’d really like you to go with me.”

“You’re a prince, shouldn’t you be taking someone of the same social status. I’m a human…a mechanic’s son. I’m nobody.”

“You are not nobody, Kurt. God, how can you not get it? You could never be a nobody to me.” Blaine softly said.

“Blaine, are you sure, because I don’t think I could take it if I suddenly had this ripped out from under me,” Kurt said, holding his breath and waiting for Blaine to say he’d changed his mind.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” Blaine said firmly.

“Well…in that case, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather go with, so yes, I will go to the ball with you.”

“Thank you, Kurt.” Blaine beamed.

****

“Finn, I can’t believe those Warblers beat us at Regionals. Kurt obviously betrayed us and I don’t know how he managed to suck those boys into letting him sing a duet with the prince.” Rachel shrieked. Not for the first time, Puck cursed his sensitive vampire hearing around the girl. She had been going on and on and on about their loss for over a week now to anyone who would listen, which at this point was pretty much down to just Finn. 

“Suck is the keyword there, Rach. Question is who has been sucking what to get Kurt in the spotlight. For someone who swore he hated all vampires, he cozied up to the ones at Dalton really quickly.” Finn sneered. Puck counted backward from fifty in his head all the while picturing all of the ways in which he could cause one Finn Hudson immeasurable amounts of pain. The boy was an idiot and a bully and Puck couldn’t wait until things between Kurt and Blaine became official and Puck could step on Finn like the bug he was.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts of revenge on Finn that he almost hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t the only one eavesdropping on the conversation. It was only when the hulking figure brushed by him with a sick twisted smile on his face that Puck registered the danger. Muttering an oath, he chased after the other boy but he was too late, Karofsky had disappeared from the hallway. With a low growl, he stormed over to Rachel and Finn, slamming the taller boy into the lockers behind him so hard it left a huge dent.

“Are you that vindictive or just really that stupid?”

“Dude! What the hell?” Finn asked struggling uselessly in Puck’s grip, while Rachel clawed at the vampire’s arm screaming for help.

“You do realize that you just told Karofsky where to find Kurt, right? Do you even fucking care?”

“Puck, relax,” Finn managed to gasp out. “Dave told me he has no interest in Kurt anymore. Kurt will be fine.”

“You are an idiot, Hudson. Karofsky lived to make Kurt’s life hell. He’s a monster… a deadly killer and Kurt is nothing but prey to him… that’s all any of you are to him. You need to think before you speak.” Puck said releasing Finn before he did any permanent damage. Rachel rushed to his side.

“David isn’t the monster, Puck, you are! Look what you’ve done to my poor Finn! Kurt left us and joined the enemy. He’s not our problem anymore. Anything that happens to him now is his fault.” Rachel jumped in, defending her boyfriend with vigor.

“He was never a problem, Rachel. He was a friend. I’m sorry if you can’t understand that concept.” Puck answered. 

“You’ve gotten sucked in by Kurt’s drama queen act. You just have to let it go and accept that Dave is our friend now. He’s even thinking of joining glee. We need to just accept that Kurt is gone and put our focus into securing new members for our club for next year since we’re not going to Nationals because of Kurt.”

“Kurt’s life is in danger and you’re worried about recruiting for glee club? The two of you need to get your heads out of your asses and grow up.” Puck stormed away disgusted by people he’d once thought of as friends. He needed to find Dave Karofsky, fast.

*****

Kurt and Nick stood in Nick’s room getting ready for the ball. Kurt looked at himself in the full length mirror, sighing as he adjusted his hair for the seventh time.

“Kurt, will you just stop? You look fabulous. Blaine is going to love you, but then again he’d love you no matter what you had on,” Nick murmured.

“I’m attending a ball with a prince, Nicholas, fabulous won’t cut it. I have to be perfect,” Kurt said sounding frantic.

“Uh-huh…want to tell me what’s really going on?” Nick said steering Kurt over to the bed and sitting down next to him. Kurt sighed.

“I don’t know what to do, Nick,” he said. “I …I have feelings for Blaine… strong feelings, but, what if he doesn’t feel the same way? What if I can’t get past what happened at McKinley,” Kurt said.

“Kurt we’ve talked about this before. He loves you. You even said you knew that,” Nick pointed out.

“What if I was wrong? What if it was nothing but wishful thinking on my part?”

“Oh Kurt. I see how Blaine looks at you.” Nick said. “He’s never looked at anyone else with that look. He looks at you like you are the most important person in the world to him. You are more special to him than you know, Kurt”

“Nick, are you sure you aren’t seeing things because you and Jeff are in the same boat?”

“I’m positive, Kurt, besides we were talking about you and Blaine, not me and Jeff.” Nick deflected the conversation back to Kurt and Blaine. “I’ve known Blaine for a long time. I never seen him act the way he does when he’s around you. As far as your past goes, have you not noticed the way you are around Blaine? He is the only person who can touch you without you pulling away. In fact, you lean in to him. You two are perfect for each other… two halves of a whole. You are meant to be Kurt.”

“You’re wrong. I’m a human and he’s a vampire… a vampire prince. I got over fantasies of being happy and loved years ago.” Kurt commented. “It’s just not in the cards for me.”

“Well, maybe fate dealt you a better hand than you know, Kurt,” Nick said. “Now suck it up Hummel, we have a ball to attend and your handsome prince awaits.”

Nick practically had to drag Kurt to the staircase and shove him down them, but he finally descended the steps which led from the resident dorms into the common room. Blaine felt his jaw drop at the sight of his date. He looked like he had stepped off the cover of GQ. Blaine knew he was staring from the way Kurt’s heart sped up and a rosy blush colored his cheeks, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

 

Kurt stopped halfway down the steps, suddenly unsure. He hadn’t expected the boys that were waiting on their dates to arrive to stop and stare at him, some hungrily. He needn’t have worried, however. Blaine quickly turned to glare at the boys a low possessive growl emanating from him. The others quickly averted their eyes. His gaze once more fastened on Kurt and he smoothly glided across the room and met his date at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hi.” Blaine said, reaching out and taking Kurt’s hand in gesture that screamed mine to everyone watching. “You look beyond fabulous Kurt.”

Kurt stared at his dashing date who was dressed in all black. He felt his breath catch in his throat and his heart speed up, something which he knew Blaine had noticed by the small pleased smile on his face. He had never seen a more gorgeous man in his entire life, and had no idea how he had gotten so lucky to be the one on his arm tonight.

“Hi yourself.” Kurt finally managed to breath. “You look amazing. You can really rock the Prince of Darkness look, but I half expected you to be wearing a cape and a scarlet bowtie.”

“We save that for Halloween.” Blaine replied with a chuckle. “Are you ready to go make our entrance?”

“As ready as I can get. Lead on, Prince Charming.”

*******

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the annual Dalton Academy Board of Governor’s Ball. This year we are particularly excited to be honoring our National Championship bound choir, The Dalton Academy Warblers. We are so pleased to have all of you in attendance this evening and we shall start with presenting our Warblers and their escorts.” Headmaster Schaffer began announcing the couples. Kurt stood nervously listening to all his friends be announced, finally it was just down to him and his closest friends. 

“Lord Nicholas Duvall and Lord Jeffery Sterling,” the headmaster said. With a grin and a rather exaggerated bow, Jeff offered Nick his arm. Nick rolled his eyes and took Jeff’s arm smiling. The two young men descended the steps, Jeff blowing kisses and winking at the crowd while Nick fought down his laughter at the blonde’s typically outrageous behavior. Blaine shook his head at his friends’ antics.

“His Royal Highness, Prince Wesley Michael Hughes accompanied by Lady Cordelia Smith,” the headmaster announced. Wes and his date, a beautiful blonde girl with warm brown eyes whom a clearly adoring Wes had introduced as his Chosen One, descended the steps nodding regally. 

“Shall we?” Blaine asked with a quirk of his eyebrows. 

“Yes, let’s your highness,” Kurt said grinning.

“And finally our duet stars, his Supreme Royal Highness, Prince Blaine Vladimir Anderson accompanied by Mr. Kurt Hummel.” 

Blaine offered Kurt his arm. Kurt lightly placed his hand in the crook of his date’s elbow. He fought down the thrill of pleasure when Blaine placed his other hand possessively on top of Kurt’s. They glided down the stairs with Blaine giving the occasional regal nod to those in attendance.

Kurt was in such a fog that he didn’t realize the Headmaster had begun to announce the Council Members. He spun around when he heard Princess Tina Cohen Chang and Lord Michael Chang being announced before turning to Blaine. “Why are Tina and Mike here?”

“It’s a traditional thing, Kurt. All the Council and their families are expected to be here.” Blaine patiently explained, suppressing a growl as someone gave Kurt a long, lingering look. “In fact, Father has asked to meet you once he’s done with all his official responsibilities tonight.”

“Y-your father?” Kurt stuttered. He took a shallow breath. He’d be meeting Blaine’s father for the first time, ever and he still wasn’t even sure exactly what he and Blaine were. 

“Don’t worry. I guarantee he’s not any more intimidating than your father.” Blaine remarked. “That man is terrifying.”

“For you, maybe.” Kurt said.

Blaine chuckled. “Relax, Kurt. It’ll be fine. Let’s go say hi to Mike and Tina. I’m sure she’d love to see you and Puck should be around here somewhere. He’s normally never more than two feet away from me at these things. He must be running late or something.”

They made their way across the room to where Tina and Mike stood chatting with Wes and his date, keeping an eye out for Puck along the way.

“Well, your highness, I must say that is a stunning dress that only a diva of your caliber could really carry off,” Kurt said quietly. Tina, who had her back to them, whirled squealing.

“Kurt!” Tina smiled, giving him a gentle hug. “I’ve missed you so much. How are you doing?” She pulled back studying him intently.

“I’m doing a lot better…much better.” Kurt answered as Blaine reclaimed Kurt’s hand. Tina put a hand to her mouth. 

“Oh my God! Are you here with Blaine?” her eyes widened at the prospect. She took in the possessive way in which Blaine was standing with Kurt and her eyes shot to her cousin’s face. She arched an eyebrow and Blaine gave a subtle nod. Tina beamed. Kurt had a feeling that if they weren’t in the middle of the ball the girl would be quite literally jumping for joy. “That’s amazing.”

“We’re here as friends, Tina.” Blaine said, but Kurt felt some sort of unspoken communication pass between them.

“Oh…friends. Well, that’s just really… friendly. Does Uncle Nathaniel know?”

Blaine rolled his eyes at the girl. “Yes, Tina. Of course he knows and I will be introducing them, later.” Tina squealed once more and clapped her hands in delight. Blaine shot Mike a significant look and Kurt got the feeling he was completely missing something. 

“Come on Tina, I want to dance.” Mike said, practically dragging the ecstatic girl off.

 

Hours later, the happy glow still hadn’t worn off. Kurt had danced with all of his friends, but he had danced the most with Blaine. The boy’s almost loving attention to him had Kurt suddenly picturing all of those happy fantasies that he’d told Nick were dead. The ball was something out of the historical romance novels he read. He never expected to get to experience something like this for himself, but this was a night he would tell his children about some day.

Blaine twirled Kurt around one last time as the music faded. He led him across the room to the corner where a very special person was waiting.

“Kurt Hummel, I want you to meet my father, Nathaniel Anderson . Father,” Blaine said with an air of one presenting something both precious and amazing, “This is Kurt.”   
Kurt bowed as Nick had instructed him too. He’d grabbed his friend in a slight panic at the thought of meeting Blaine’s father. Nick had given him a crash course in meeting royalty as well as a pep talk. Kurt wasn’t sure what had him more nervous… the fact that Nathaniel Anderson was the king or the fact that he was Blaine’s father.

“It is very nice to meet you, your majesty” Kurt said, trying not to let his nerves show.

“It’s very nice to meet you too, Kurt, and we can dispense with the formalities, at least when we are talking privately, just as my son’s other friends do” Nathaniel Anderson said, carefully observing the young human. He knew Blaine cared deeply for the human boy; he’d told him as much. Nathaniel knew it was only a matter of time before his son would tell him that Kurt was his intended mate. 

As they chatted and Kurt became more relaxed around him, Nathaniel became increasingly more impressed with the young human. He was intelligent and caring and he and Blaine looked at each other with such longing. He truly hoped he was correct in his suspicions about Blaine and the boy. As he watched Blaine and Kurt make their way back to their friends, he couldn’t hide the small satisfied smile on his face. His son had found a worthy mate it would seem.

“So, Nathaniel…I see Kurt and Blaine came together.” Duncan Hughes walked up to him with Andrew Cohen Chang. “It is a remarkable sight to see those two so close.”

“Blaine tried to insist they’re just friends.” Nathaniel smiled.

“But you think it’s more?” Duncan had always been able to easily read the other man.

“Blaine and I had a discussion about him at Christmas. He has very strong feelings for the boy, but he is concerned about Kurt accepting him because of the Karofsky incident. I think perhaps he may have gotten past those concerns, however. This is the first boy that Blaine has ever introduced to me. And the way Blaine looks at him… I wish Evangeline could be here to see it.”

“I’m sure she knows,” Duncan said, putting a comforting hand on his brother-in-laws shoulder. They both still missed Evangeline Hughes Anderson’s presence in their lives, especially at times like this. 

“Duncan is right Nate. She knows. As far as those two go,” Andrew said nodding towards Kurt and Blaine. “He can try to deny it all he wants, but a blind man could see how they feel about each other. When it’s right, Blaine will tell you. Kurt is a very special young man. They would be good for each other.”

“I know and I’m waiting for it. I think it’s going to happen sooner rather than later.” Nathaniel murmured. He only wanted Blaine to be happy and it was clear that Kurt made him so. “In fact, I think I may just give the boy a little push. If you’ll excuse me?” He quickly made his way over to the boys.

“Gentlemen, I need to borrow my son for a bit.”

“Go ahead, Kurt and I will hang out, Blaine.” Nick reassured his friend.

“I will be back shortly, so please save a dance for me.” Blaine looked at Kurt.

“If you’re lucky,” Kurt teased.

Blaine followed his father out of the ballroom and down the hall to a nearby classroom.

“I assume this is about Kurt?” Blaine said, leaning up against a desk. Nathaniel smiled.

“You seem very taken with him, son.”

“I am.” Blaine acknowledged with a nod. “He’s the one Dad. Kurt is it for me, but you’d already figured that out.”

“Of course I had. I am your father after all. I like him son. I think he’ll be good for you and our people, but I do have some concerns,” Nathaniel said cautiously. He didn’t want to give his son the impression that he didn’t approve when that was far from the case.

“Such as?” Blaine said tensing.

“Some of the same ones you voiced to me at Christmas. He’s been through a lot…are you certain he’s going to be able to accept the changes he’ll have to make to be with you?”

“He’s strong Dad, amazingly so. I think he will be able to accept the changes… I hope he will, but we’re just friends right now.” Blaine looked hard at his father.

“But you’d like to be more.”

“I’d like to be more, but Kurt and I will figure things out on our own without your interference, Father.” Blaine firmly said.

“Fine… fine, I will back off… Just, Blaine, don’t wait… don’t waste one second with him son. If I could have more time with your mother…”

“Dad…” Blaine said moving towards his father. Nathaniel shook his head.

“I’m fine Blaine. Go find your boy,” he said. Nodding, Blaine went in search of Kurt.

_______

Nick took a protective stance as, now that he wasn’t with Blaine, guests of the ball gave Kurt second, third, and fourth looks.

“Blood whore.” A voice hissed, causing both Nick and Kurt to look around. Nick unconsciously moved closer to Kurt.

“Oh my god. Is that how all these people see me because I’m a human and I’m with Blaine?” Kurt demanded, shell shocked that someone would say such a horrifying thing to him.

“Of course not. Most of the people here have no issues with you and Blaine being together, but prejudiced idiots exist everywhere, even in romantic ballrooms. Just ignore it, Kurt.” Nick replied. “They have no idea who you are. It’s just a bunch of words from ignorant people.”

“I suppose. I guess I shouldn’t be too upset. I got used to being called names at McKinley. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought my name was fag.” Kurt said. He just felt so defeated. He’d put up with so much at McKinley and Dalton was supposed to be safer.

“I am so sorry that you had to go through that, but you have to know that you are so much more than what they see, Kurt. You’re a strong, intelligent, handsome, man with an amazing voice. You’re the reason we are here. Your duet with Blaine won us Regionals and secured us a trip to New York.” Nick tried to bolster his friend’s spirits.

“We were all working together, Nick.” Kurt didn’t think it was all him. They were a team, after all…more of a team than New Directions ever was.

“I saw the judge’s faces, Kurt. You were blowing them away.” Nick refused to let Kurt degrade himself because someone was so rude.

“Thanks Nick.” Kurt said, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Nick shook his head.

“Don’t let them ruin your evening. We’re here to have fun and dance the night away. Speaking of which, here come our long lost dates.” Nick’s face lit up with a smile.

“So what is going on with the two of you anyway?” Kurt asked.

“We’ll talk later.” Nick said hastily as Jeff and Blaine reached their side.

“Good evening. Would you like to dance, Lord Duvall?”

“Of course, Lord Sterling.”

“And you Mr. Hummel… would you do me the great honor of accompanying me to the dance floor?”

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea Blaine. Someone like you shouldn’t be seen with someone like me.” Kurt refused the request as much as his heart was screaming for him to say yes… to allow himself one more dance with the handsome hazel eyed vampire, but he couldn’t allow his desires to damage Blaine’s reputation. 

“What are you talking about Kurt? I’m proud to be here with you. Where is this coming from?” 

“Someone called him a blood whore.” Nick said, glaring at those nearby as if he could figure out who had upset his friend.

“What?” Blaine hissed. “Where are they Nicholas?”

“I’m not sure, whoever it was, was too big of a coward to say it to his face. They just threw it at him as they passed by in a crowd and I couldn’t tell who it was.”

“Well, we’ll have to make them understand that Kurt is way more than that. As Jeff likes to elegantly put it, he’s not just a piece of ass.”

“Blaine don’t. I’m not worth it. I’ll just leave,” Kurt said starting to turn away.

“Don’t even think about it, Kurt. You hold your head up high. You’re worth twenty of them. You’re amazing and I intend to show everyone how much you mean to me. Please dance with me?”

“Don’t you let them take this from you Kurt,” Nick pleaded. At his friend’s encouragement, Kurt straightened, bringing up his chin defiantly. 

“I guess it would be bad form to deny a request from the prince.” Kurt said. Blaine grinned proudly at his date.

“It would.” Blaine took Kurt’s hand and led them to the dance floor. They were soon lost in the music and each other. When the song they were dancing to finished and the orchestra began to play a slower more romantic tune, rather than leave the dance floor, Blaine pulled Kurt closer to him and was vaguely aware of Jeff doing the same with Nick.

Near the stage, Wes and his girlfriend smirked at their crafty scheming. Blaine and Jeff weren’t as good at hiding their feelings as they thought they were. Seeing his friends completely lost in the moment with their respective dates was completely worth the money he had slipped the orchestra to play that song.

“This night Blaine, it’s been amazing,” Kurt murmured. “I’ll never forget it.”

“Neither will I Kurt. I’ve been to hundreds of events like this, but this is the first one I have ever enjoyed, because I’m here with you and seeing it through your eyes. You move me Kurt. You make me feel things I have never felt before. I can’t imagine my life without you anymore,” Blaine said staring intently into Kurt’s eyes.

“Blaine,” Kurt breathed. Both boys began to lean into each other, eyes closing, lips centimeters apart. Had someone not bumped into him, Blaine was certain he’d have kissed Kurt in the middle of the dance floor consequences be damned. He pulled shakily away.

“We can’t do this here… and we need to talk. Come outside with me?” Blaine said, his voice husky. Kurt could only nod in response. Blaine hastily ushered him outside to the romantically decorated terrace, steering him to secluded corner.

“Kurt I…” he began, only to be silenced by Kurt putting a gentle finger to his lips.

“Just shut up and kiss me Blaine, because I swear if you don’t I just might fall apart,” he begged, his voice low and throaty and oh so sexy to Blaine’s sensitive ears.

With a groan, Blaine pulled Kurt to him doing at last what he had been longing to for so long. His lips met Kurt’s nipping and sucking lightly. The light brush of lips they’d shared at New Year’s was nothing compared to this. This was heaven, pure magic, and so worth the wait. Kurt tasted amazing, intoxicating almost, and the way he clung to Blaine, every inch of him fitting Blaine perfectly was like a physical confirmation of what Blaine already knew. Kurt Hummel would be his mate… his for eternity. Exerting every ounce of willpower he possessed, Blaine pulled away. He had to make sure Kurt understood before this progressed any further.

“Kurt, we have to stop. We need to talk,” Blaine said, panting. Kurt advanced on him.

“Talking is way overrated Blaine,” Kurt murmured. Blaine chuckled.

“Normally I would agree wholeheartedly, but this is important,” Blaine insisted. Kurt sighed, pouting slightly.

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Ok,” Blaine began pacing nervously. “So umm… I guess the first thing you need to know is that I really care about you, Kurt. I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you.” Blaine stuttered through his usually elegant words as he looked deep into the eyes of the boy in front of him.

“I really care about you too,” Kurt admitted, smiling shyly. He couldn’t believe this was happening. It was a dream come true. Instead of the smile of happiness Kurt had expected after his admission, Blaine looked, if possible, more nervous. Kurt frowned, a feeling of foreboding in his stomach. “What is it Blaine?”

“Relationships for me are a little complicated. They’re sort of a lifetime commitment. I can have only one true mate Kurt. It’s part of who I am. My father didn’t find mother until he was already king and leader of the council. I… I found mine at the front doors of Dalton this fall,” he said his eyes boring into Kurt.

“I… you think that I’m your… mate?” Kurt managed to get out, completely shocked. “But I’m human and completely inappropriate for a prince and…”

“You are not inappropriate Kurt you are perfect. As far as being human goes, when…if we were to mate I would… part of the mating is… it sort of requires you to be turned,” Blaine said.

“Turned?” Kurt squeaked eyes wide. 

“I know it’s a lot Kurt. I’ve fought it because I knew how hard it would be for you, but,” Blaine paused seeming to gather both his confidence and his thoughts. “I love you Kurt Hummel. You have become my everything and my life without you would be worthless. Please accept all of this… accept me.” He pleaded. Kurt opened and closed his mouth silently as if trying to find words that wouldn’t come.

“I need a little time Blaine,” Kurt said at last. “This is a lot to take in.”

“I know and you can have all of the time you need. I’ll wait for you forever if that’s what it takes, but also know that you can say no. I won’t force you,” Blaine said. After everything Kurt had been through, he would not be another person bringing harm to this wonderful, amazing man.

“I know Blaine. That’s why I love you,” Kurt said smiling. “I… if its ok I’d like to take a walk have a little time to myself.”

“Of course. I’ll be inside,” Blaine said, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on Kurt’s lips before turning and heading back to the ballroom.  
He had just re-entered the ballroom when a commotion near the door caught his attention.

“I don’t give a flying fuck if my attire does not meet the evening’s dress code. I need to see Prince Blaine and King Nathaniel immediately,” a voice Blaine recognized as Puck’s bellowed. He had never heard his normally unflappable personal guard sound so frantic.

“Let him in,” Blaine ordered striding over. His father was just a few steps behind, as were the rest of Blaine’s friends and the other council members.

“Puck? What the hell is this about?” Blaine demanded.

“Where’s Porcelain?”

“He just headed into the gardens to get some air. Why?” Blaine asked.

“Shit! Karofsky found out where Kurt was because of Rachel and Finn’s bullshit arguing at McKinley. He took off before I could catch him. I’ve been tracking him but I lost him. Last time I had his scent it was headed this way. We have to find Kurt and get him to safety now.”

“Don’t those two ever stop?” Jeff growled.

“Let’s go.” Blaine ordered already moving towards the terrace doors, the other boys racing after him. “Our focus is on Kurt. When we find him, I want him taken to our room and kept there under guard until we find Karofsky.”

Nathaniel watched the boys go, quickly issuing orders to the House Guards who were there that night before following after his son, praying that the slim human boy who had captured his son’s heart would be safe.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

“While amongst our kind those of the Draculesti are considered the strongest and most formidable, they do, however, have one weakness. For each of them there is only one other in all of time, in all the world who calls to their soul. It is that one person, their Chosen One, who will forever be their greatest strength, and also their greatest weakness.” 

-An excerpt from “The Draculesti” by Evangeline Hughes-Anderson

 

Kurt wandered the garden paths lost in his thoughts. Blaine loved him. He was Blaine’s mate… if he chose to be. But did he want to be? He loved Blaine. He couldn’t deny that. He wanted to be with him, but he was seventeen. Was he ready to be committed to one person for eternity? Could he become what he had come to Dalton so very fearful of? As if thinking of that dark time dredged up the echoes of it, a voice from his nightmares intruded upon his thoughts.

“My, my, my.” David Karofsky stepped into the path. “What do I have here? You look good enough to eat Kurt.”

“Karofsky?” Kurt couldn’t believe his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Your brother and his simpering little girlfriend should learn to talk softer. They pretty much told me where to find you. All I had to do was wait for the perfect time. It was way too easy to slip in with the other party goers.”

“Okay, so you’re here. What do you want?” Kurt worked to keep calm when all his cells were telling him to start screaming and run like the wind.

“Oh, Kurt… You know what I want.” David circled around the other boy, his fangs growing longer. “You should make this easier on yourself. I would hate to have to break you again because this time, I won’t be so nice.”

“Well, you can’t always have what you want.” Kurt knew his only chance of making it was to fight. He resisted the urge to shudder at the sight of Karofsky’s fangs.

“I have plenty of ways of getting what I want. You should know that by now, Kurt.” Karofsky grabbed Kurt’s wrist and flipped him on his back. 

Kurt quickly scrambled to get up. He knew staying on his feet meant survival, but Karofsky was just too strong. He threw Kurt back to the ground and he felt several of his ribs crack. Kurt still tried to fight but he was pinned by the large boy, and completely helpless. Suddenly everything began to move in slow motion as with a flash of fangs, Kurt saw Karofsky’s mouth descend towards his neck. Pain like he had never known filled him and, unable to stop himself, he screamed praying for death or Blaine.

The Warblers ran down the path after Blaine who was tracking the boy he loved as only he could. They turned yet another corner when Kurt’s painful scream rent the night air. 

Blaine surged forward with a roar. He didn’t even know he’d attacked Karofsky until the two of them were rolling around on the ground biting and clawing at each other. Puck and Wes circled them waiting to intercede if necessary.

As much as Nick and Jeff wanted to join in the fight, they were more worried about Kurt.

“Kurt, talk to me.” Nick brushed the blood off Kurt’s face, holding his hand to Kurt’s throat to stop the bleeding, something made more difficult by Kurt struggling in his grip. His eyes widened in alarm when he realized that Karofsky had torn at Kurt’ throat and he was bleeding a lot more than Nick was comfortable with. “Kurt! Calm down it’s me! You’re safe. Let me help you.”

“No! Blaine! Don’t hurt him! Nick let me go! He needs me! Blaine is in danger! I have to help him! I’m his… we’re… I need to tell him!”

“He’s fine Kurt,” Jeff reassured him. “That rogue is no match for your prince. Now let us help you.”

Kurt ignored him, his focus completely on Blaine.

“How dare you touch what is MINE!” Blaine roared loudly, slamming Karofsky into the ground, cracking the marble of the base of the fountain.

Mike , Tina and the Council, who were just arriving on the scene stopped short, hearing Blaine’s words. While it was just confirmation of what they already knew, it was still a bit of a shock to hear the words spoken out loud the way they were. Seeing Kurt struggling in Nick and Jeff’s grasp, and his son quite literally tearing the rogue to shreds, Nathaniel stepped forward to end it.

“ENOUGH!” he shouted.

Blaine growled at his father and the others surrounding them. “Oh, I’m just getting started. He bit him Father. This rogue stole what is mine and it is my right to take his pitiful life as forfeit.” He slammed Karofsky into the marble fountain once again.

“I’m sorry son, but I can’t let you do that,” Nathaniel said, gesturing to Wes and Puck who jumped into the fray, pulling Blaine off of Karofsky before he destroyed the other vampire. 

“Let me go,” Blaine roared, nearly pulling free of their grasp. Nathaniel stepped in front of his son, forcing him to look up. 

“Blaine, I do understand… better than anyone. I know how much you want to destroy that bastard, I honestly do. I think your Chosen One needs you more right now, however. Look at him,” Nathaniel said, pointing over to where Kurt laid his struggles becoming increasingly weaker as his blood began to pool on the ground.

“We will take care of this rogue while you focus on Kurt. He’s the important one here. Go to him.”

Blaine immediately quit fighting and was at Kurt’s side in the blink of an eye. 

“No one touches him.” Blaine growled dropping to his knees and tenderly cradling Kurt in his arms. “I’m here love. Are you okay? What hurts?” Blaine tried to calm himself down. Kurt needed him to be calm, but it was very hard to not react to his Chosen One’s injuries. 

“Everything… I love you… I don’t need to think anymore Blaine,” Kurt weakly murmured, despite the pain. His fingers found Blaine’s and intertwined with them; needing something comforting and familiar.

“Shhhhh love, we can worry about that later,” Blaine responded kissing his forehead.

“So cold,” Kurt mumbled barely able to get the words out.

“I’ve called the ambulance.” Mike had his cell phone in his hand.

“No. It will take them too long to get here.” Blaine snapped, his eyes filled with fear for Kurt. “I’m taking him to the hospital. He needs to be taken care of now.” Blaine scooped Kurt into his arms as delicately as he could. He didn’t want to cause him anymore pain.

“My dad... please.” Kurt forced the words out. 

“I’ll go get him myself Porcelain,” Puck shouted as Blaine whisked away with Kurt in his arms.

 

Blaine raced as fast as he could to the Westerville Hospital. He moved so fast the world was blurring around him. He practically tore the emergency room doors off their hinges in his haste to get treatment for Kurt. He burst into the emergency room stopping before the reception desk, a now unconscious Kurt cradled protectively in his arms.

“He needs to be treated now.” Blaine demanded.

“Just put him in a chair and we will get to him when we have a chance,” one of the nurses said distractedly, not bothering to look up from her chart.

“I believe you didn’t hear me correctly,” Blaine said his voice deadly. “I said he needs to be treated now!”

“He’s just a human,” the nurse said in a bored tone. “He’s going to die eventually anyway, and we have other patients who have higher priority than him.”

“Oh really?” Blaine demanded. 

“Yes really. I’m so tired of you boys who don’t know your own limits and over feed and then panic when your blood whore is dying,” the nurse growled.

“I don’t think you understand. He is not some blood whore, he is my Chosen One,” Blaine said his voice deadly. “And if anything happens to him it will be on your head.”

“I’m terrified kid. Now sit over there. A doctor will be with you…”

“Blaine, what are you still doing out here?” Blaine turned to see Nick’s father, Dr. Fredrick Duvall coming through the doors. He’d never been more relieved in his life.

“They said they had priority patients that were more important than Kurt.” Blaine was barely keeping a hold of his emotions that were threatening to explode.

“Oh really? I’ll fix that problem right now,” Dr. Duvall said, his face hardening. He did not allow prejudiced behavior such as that to exist in his hospital. He strode to the desk angrily. “Nurse Michaels?” He sternly intoned.

“Dr. Duvall, I wasn’t aware that you were on shift tonight. We have several priority patients if you would like to step in and treat them.”

“I wasn’t on duty. I am here to treat Kurt.” Dr. Duvall said. “He’s my priority patient this evening. In fact, until further notice, he will be the only patient that I will be treating.”

“Surely, your talents are needed for other more important patients. As I said, we have several priority…”

“You think there are other patients more important than Prince Blaine’s Chosen One ?” Dr. Duvall stared at the woman in shock at her stupidity.

“Prince Blaine? I didn’t realize...” The nurse tried to backpedal as the Council strode into the emergency room, looking as regal as always, and hearing the tail end of the previous conversation.

“You didn’t realize?” Nathaniel Anderson was enraged. “My son’s word wasn’t enough?”

“I…I…I didn’t…”

“You are relieved from duty for the rest of the shift. The rest of you prep a room for Mr. Hummel” Dr. Duvall ordered.

“Room Seven is available now, Dr. Duvall.” A second nurse offered.

“Blaine, bring Kurt please.”

Blaine quickly followed Dr. Duvall to the room. He laid Kurt on the bed, trying to be as gentle as possible. He didn’t want to hurt his beloved. 

“I’m sorry Blaine, but you’ll have to leave while we treat him,” Dr. Duvall said, firmly, but kindly ushering the protesting boy from the room where he collapsed sobbing into his father’s arms.

\----- 

“Where is my son?” Burt demanded as he rushed into the building with Puck beside him.

“He is being treated by Dr. Duvall, the chief of medicine here. I’m not sure how much Noah has told you, but there was an incident at the ball which resulted in Kurt needing medical care so Blaine brought him here.” Duncan Hughes said stepping in front of the man and nodding over to where Blaine sat with his head in his hands being comforted by his father. 

“An incident? Is that what we’re calling it?” Burt growled. “Let’s call a spade a spade. My son was attacked again, even though I was promised by you people that he would be safe. What I want to know is how this happened.

“We don’t know, but Headmaster Schaffer is doing a full investigation and those responsible will be dealt with.” Duncan replied. “There is no way that we will let this go unpunished. You have my word as both a Council member and a father.”

“Mr. Hummel?” Blaine said speaking for the first time since the doctors had begun to work on Kurt. “I’m so sorry. I should have been there… I should have protected him better. This is my fault.” 

The anguish on Blaine’s face and in his words was almost palpable. Burt sighed his stance softening as he took in the broken young man before him. He knew the vampire was extremely important to his son. Kurt couldn’t talk about him without smiling, and one look at how had the kid was taking Kurt’s attack and Burt knew that Blaine must feel the same way about Kurt.

“It wasn’t your fault kid. In fact from what Puck said, if anything you saved him. God, I just can’t believe this is happening again. I promised him he’d be safe,” Burt said sinking into a nearby chair. He felt like he’d let his son down and that hurt worse than anything. Blaine sat down nervously next to him and put a tentative hand on Burt’s shoulder.

“He’s going to be ok sir,” Blaine said earnestly. “He has to be, because I don’t know how I’ll make it without him.”

“Me neither son… me neither,” Burt responded, putting his hand on top of Blaine’s and gripping it tightly. They sat like that waiting for what felt like forever before Nick’s Dad returned carrying Kurt’s chart. 

“Dr. Duvall… How is he?” Blaine questioned, rising and rushing over to the man.

“Kurt is awake. He re-broke the wrist that was injured last fall and several of his ribs were cracked as well. We had to give him a transfusion because of the bleeding, but there shouldn’t be any long-term physical issues. He just needs to rest and recover from the attack.” Dr. Duvall answered.

“And the bite?” Blaine asked. “Was he… did Karofsky manage to…”

“Bite? He was bitten?” Burt growled. Blaine nodded.

“I’m sorry sir. I thought Puck would’ve told you,” Blaine apologized before turning to the doctor. “Dr. Duvall this is Kurt’s father, Burt Hummel,” Blaine introduced. Dr. Duvall shook Burt’s hand, feeling the man’s pain. He could remember how it felt when Nicholas had been in Kurt’s shoes. It had been devastating to all of them.

“I’m sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances Mr. Hummel and to answer your question, yes Kurt was bitten. We believe that the rogue intended to turn him,” Dr. Duvall answered.

“Intended to Fredrick?” Nathaniel Anderson asked coming up to put a supportive hand on his son’s shoulder. “So he didn’t complete the process?”

“No, he did not. Although he bit with the intent, Blaine pulled him off of Kurt before he could force him to ingest his blood.”  
Blaine visibly sagged in relief and Burt released a breath he hadn’t even realized he had been holding.

“You are free to go in and see him in about twenty minutes once we have him settled in his room. We’re going to release him home in a couple of days once all the test results come back. We can’t be too careful.” Dr. Duvall was taking every precaution when it came to Kurt. “I’m going to check on him right now. A nurse will show you to Kurt’s room.”

“Thank you.” Burt said.

A nurse arrived a short while later as promised. As he followed her down the long hall to his son’s room, he felt a strong sense of deja vu. It was happening all over again and once again there was nothing he could do. He was stopped just short of his Kurt’s room by a large, rather intimidating vampire.

“Hello, Mr. Hummel.” 

“Err… Hello.”

“I’m Ben Puckerman. I think you know my son Noah. I am the commander of the House Guard and King Nathaniel’s second. I just wanted to let you know that we’ve been ordered to take over the security of your son. I have assigned several of my top men to be Kurt’s guard for the foreseeable future. I want to assure you that no one is getting into this room and no one will hurt Kurt again.”

“Ordered? By who?” Burt asked.

“The High Council of the Covens sir, at the request of Prince Blaine and King Nathaniel,” the vampire replied. 

“Prince Blaine?” Burt frowned. “I see.” Apparently his son had acquired some very powerful friends.

“I understand that only members of your family and Kurt’s friends from Dalton are allowed to visit him in the hospital?”

“Uhh…” Burt responded, caught off guard by the whole thing. “Yes, I think that would be best.” 

“We are here to make sure Kurt is safe and I guarantee that on my life. Even if I hadn’t been ordered to, I’d have done so. He saved my son. Noah was at a very dark point in his life when he came to McKinley, your son got him past that,” Ben said.

“Kurt is a special kid,” Burt responded, getting choked up at the thought of his son.

“So I’ve heard. Don’t worry Mr. Hummel. We’ll take care of him,” Ben reassured him once more.

“Thank you,” Burt answered. The guard accompanied him the last few feet to Kurt’s room. They were met outside of it by Dr. Duvall.

“Mr. Hummel, may I have a moment of your time?” he asked.

“You are the doctor who saved my son’s life, of course you can” Burt looked at the man. 

“I am, but I am also a father. My son, Nick, goes to Dalton and is in the Warblers with Kurt. I wanted a chance to tell you even though it looks scary in that room, Kurt will be fine. We have him on an IV in order to administer the strongest antibiotics we have available and pain medication as well as glucose to prevent dehydration. There is also a heart monitor and that is simply a standard procedure, so no worries there. He is personally my patient here and no other doctors will be treating him. He is my priority now and I will make sure he gets the best care we can deliver.”

“I appreciate that Doctor, but I have to ask, why are you all doing this? I mean the special treatment the guard… all of it,” Burt asked, genuinely puzzled. These people were some of the most powerful people in the world, and they all seemed to be going out of their way for his son.

“I know what it feels like to want it all to be okay. Nick and Kurt have very similar stories. My son did not have the easiest life before Dalton either, but things do get better. Dalton is good for our kids. Above and beyond all of that, Kurt is a very special young man who matters a great deal to Blaine, Nick, and the others. That makes him important to us as well. He will be ok Mr. Hummel. I will do everything in my power to makes sure of it.”

“I seem to be saying this a lot tonight, but thank you,” Burt said sincerely. “Dalton has been a God send for my son. After the first attack he had cut himself off from everyone. He was finally happy again… I mean really and truly happy. I just don’t want this to set him back again.” 

“Mr. Hummel, I doubt that Blaine and his friends will let that happen.” Dr. Duvall answered, knowingly because this time Kurt had Blaine and all of the Warblers behind him.

“I hope so.” Burt replied, hoping that they wouldn’t let Kurt down. 

“That, Mr. Hummel, is the one thing I don’t think you have to worry about. Are you ready to see your son?”

At Burt’s nod, Dr. Duvall opened the door to Kurt’s room, stepping aside so that he could enter. Burt gasped. He had never wanted to see his son hooked up to so many machines again. The first time had nearly killed him and this time wasn’t any better.

“Oh Kurt,” Burt said nearly breaking down.

“Daddy,” Kurt said with tears in his eyes.

Burt rushed to his son’s side and soothed away all the tears as best he could. “Are you okay?”

“I will be.” Kurt stuttered, wiping away the rest of his tears.

“What happened?” Burt asked, needing to hear Kurt’s version of things.

“Karofsky got onto school grounds and came after me. I was out in the gardens alone. He threw me around pretty good, and he… he bit me… but the doctor says he didn’t turn me. I thought I was going to die, but Blaine found me. He saved me Daddy,” Kurt said.

“Then thank God for Blaine,” Burt would be forever grateful to that boy. “I just hate that Karofsky did this to you again… that he ruined the ball for you…that he couldn’t just leave you alone and let you live your life.”

“It’s ok Dad… I’m alive and mostly well, and I had an amazing evening until the very end. I am not going to let him ruin this or Dalton for me,” Kurt said determinedly.

“I’m glad to see you happy there Kurt, but you’re coming home with me for a few days to recover once they release you. Dr. Duvall assured me that he will be looking after you personally. He’s a good man. I like him.”

“You’re going to let me stay at Dalton right?” Kurt was worried that his father would take him out of school and he would never see his friends again.

“You want to stay there?” Burt asked, surprised. 

Kurt looked at his father incredulously. “Of course I do, Dad. I refuse to let that vampire bully destroy my friendships with the Warblers. They’re very important to me. I feel safe at Dalton. I have friends there, Daddy. Blaine’s there.”

“Blaine huh?” Burt asked. Kurt nodded as well as he was able with the injury to his neck.

“He’s important to me… very important,’ Kurt admitted.

“Then I guess I should give him his turn with you. Are you up for that?” Burt asked suppressing a smile, at Kurt’s eager nod. He was beyond relieved that while Kurt was physically more injured this time, emotionally he was doing significantly better. “He insisted I should see you first. He’s a good kid Kurt. I like him.” 

“I do too Dad,” Kurt said. Burt suspected if he hadn’t been so low on blood, his son would be blushing at the admission.

“I’ll go get him. I need to call Carole and Finn anyway and let them know how you’re doing,” Burt said. He leaned down kissing the top of Kurt’s head before leaving the room. Blaine slipped into the room a short time later.

“Hi. How are you feeling?” Blaine asked tentatively. He had come in alone first. He had insisted the others wait outside, deciding it best not to overwhelm Kurt, just in case.

“Pretty sore.” Kurt answered, grimacing as he shifted to try and sit up. Blaine rushed to his side at the grimace and assisted Kurt. “But they tell me I’ll survive.”

“God, Kurt…” Blaine didn’t know where to start, but took one of Kurt’s hands in his own. “When Puck told us Karofsky was coming after you, I couldn’t see straight. And then when I saw him on you…. Saw him biting you… I wanted to tear him apart. I was terrified.”

“I was too. When I saw you fighting him, it was like a nightmare,” Kurt said. Blaine’s face fell.

“I’m sorry you had to see that side of me. I understand if it… it’s too much for you to be around me now and I…”

“Blaine you don’t understand. I wasn’t terrified of you… I was terrified for you. I love you Blaine. I can’t lose you. I want you in my life… forever. I… I want to be your mate. I won’t lie, I’m scared of the thought of being turned, but I’ll learn to face this fear just like the others because in the end, I’ll have you,”

“Kurt,” Blaine breathed. “Are you sure?”

“I have never been more sure of anything in my life Blaine.” At his words, Blaine leaned down and captured Kurt’s lips in a heart-stoppingly gentle kiss that Kurt felt all the way down to his toes. He released his breath with a sigh when Blaine pulled away, not completely able to hide the flinch as it caused his broken ribs to twinge.

“You need to rest, Kurt. I don’t want you over exerting yourself.” Blaine tucked Kurt back into bed. “Just close your eyes and I will be here when you wake up.” He had no intention of leaving Kurt’s side. Kurt was his Chosen One and would soon be his mate. He had a responsibility to take care of him. It’s not like he had to sleep anyway. Vampires could go up to a week without sleep when they needed to. He idly wondered if he could get a beverage from the blood bank in the hospital.

“Promise?” Kurt asked sleepily.

“I promise my Chosen One,” Blaine answered. “Now close your eyes and rest. That’s what your body needs right now. Rest, sweetheart.”

 

Almost an hour later, after an agonizing conversation with his wife, Burt returned to his son’s room to find Blaine still sitting attentively at Kurt’s bedside. He was holding the sleeping boy’s hand with a look of such utter and complete devotion upon his face that Burt felt like just peering in the window was an invasion of privacy.

“Beautiful isn’t it?”

Burt turned to see Nathaniel Anderson standing behind him.

“First love always is,” Burt answered. Nathaniel arched an eyebrow.

“You do understand that this is considerably more than just some high school romance?” he asked, looking intently at Burt. 

“Oh come on. They’re still just kids. They have no idea what they want,” Burt scoffed.

“They are young,” Nathaniel acknowledged. “But not too young to have found each other. Blaine has chosen your son Mr. Hummel.”

“Chosen?” 

“To be his mate,” Nathaniel said calmly.

“His what?” Burt demanded.

“His mate, Mr. Hummel. It’s a very special bond, particularly for those of us with royal blood. While most vampires can have multiple mates, Blaine and myself will only ever have one. Blaine has chosen Kurt as his, and when I spoke to him a few moments ago, Blaine informed me that Kurt accepted.”

“Hell no! Kurt is only seventeen! He’s still in love with the idea of being in love, but he doesn’t really understand the kind of commitment a real relationship takes.”

“Oh really? Watch them Mr. Hummel,” Nathaniel commanded. 

Burt turned back to his son’s room. Kurt had woken up. Blaine was carefully helping him to sit up and getting him a drink. Kurt was looking up at him with such love in his eyes. Burt had never seen anything like it, at least not since he had seen that same look in Lizzie’s eyes when they looked at him.

“I am not ready for this,” Burt muttered. Beside him, Nathaniel Anderson chuckled.

“Neither am I Mr. Hummel, but I don’t believe they’re going to give us a choice,” he responded. Burt snorted.

“No I don’t suppose they will… and it’s Burt. I guess we should be on a first name basis since it looks like we’re gonna be family,” he said holding out his hand. With an amused smile, the vampire took it.

“I believe you are correct Burt… and it’s Nathaniel,” he replied shaking Burt’s hand before both men turned back to their silent vigil over their children.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

“I, as a member of the House Guard of the Draculesti, solemnly swear to do my best to uphold the laws of this House and Clan. I will protect my Chief and my charge with all of my being even unto death. I will bear no honor more great, no oath more solemn, and no loyalty more profound than that of this pledge.”

-The Oath of the House Guard

 

The next two days were difficult to put it mildly. Kurt was being kept for a few more days because his blood work was hinky and Dr. Duvall wanted to run more tests, saying that it was the right thing to do. His ribs ached, his neck burned and throbbed, and the pain medicine made him cranky and tired. 

The only bright spot in his days was that Blaine came every day after school. It was odd how much their relationship had stayed the same, yet changed so dramatically. The still laughed and talked like they always had, but Blaine was always touching him now. He made sure to hold his hand and fluff his pillows. He even stayed late in the evening when Kurt was drifting off to sleep and sang to him.

When Blaine wasn’t there, he was either being driven insane by his father, who was practically smothering him with attention or there alone because he had finally insisted his dad go to work. Blaine and the guys had texted him throughout the morning, but they were in class and there was nothing on TV and he didn’t have his laptop. He was bored to tears and probably would have tried to sneak out had he not had a rather surprising visitor.

“Can I come in?” Puck peeked his head around the door.

“Yes please.” Kurt beamed. “You can save me from watching a repeat of Judge Judy which is what I have been reduced to in this place

“Hey I like Judge Judy. Lady is a bad ass like me,” Puck grinned plopping himself down in the chair next to his bed. “So how you doing?"

“Better. I’m still on pain meds, but I haven’t had to take them nearly as much today,” Kurt answered. Puck flashed a smile. 

“That’s great dude. Blaine will be happy. He’s driving everyone insane worrying about you.”

“He’s amazing,” Kurt blushed. Puck’s smile widened.

“I knew sending you to Dalton would help you. Knew my boys would take care of you and keep you safe.”

“They have.” Kurt acknowledged.

“So you and Anderson, huh?” Puck teased. Kurt nodded.

“Yep. We’re official. I’d rather I didn’t have to get beaten up by Karofsky again to knock some sense into me, but in this case, it was so worth it,” Kurt grinned. Puck snorted.

“Karofsky is lucky he still has his head. No one with a brain touches a royal’s Chosen One. Which reminds me, remember the day we met?” Puck asked. Kurt nodded.

“You threw me in a dumpster,” Kurt glared. Puck nodded.

“I was an idiot then. Anyway, I’ll never forget it. You, this tiny little human, climbed out of the dumpster, called me a cretin and said that I’d be working for you someday. I remember thinking, ‘Yeah right only if you mate with the Prince.’ Well guess what Porcelain?” Puck grinned. Kurt laughed.

“I was right.”

“I will be working for you.” Puck agreed.

“Who knew I was psychic?” Kurt smirked. “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you end up being Blaine’s bodyguard anyway? Aren’t you kind of young?”

“It’s a hereditary thing. If there is a member of the Draculesti, there is a Puckerman to watch out for them. My dad, in addition to being the leader of the military unit of the council, is Nathaniel Anderson’s personal bodyguard and that means I am Blaine’s and yours by extension. I was literally born into the job and started training for it before I could walk.”

“So, Puckerman working for me…” Kurt giggled. “Is washing windows one of your skills?” Puck snorted.

“My skill set sort of leans in another direction Porcelain.” 

Kurt’s eyes widened. Puck smirked at his friend’s reaction before turning more serious.

“Listen, Kurt, I wanted to talk to you about something. You and Blaine are both important to me. I don’t want to see either of you hurt,” he began.

“I have no intention of doing that Puck,” Kurt said, looking offended.

“I know it Porcelain. I’m just saying, make sure that you are damn sure this is what you want because you can’t take it back.”

“I‘m aware of that, Puckerman. I know that it may not make any sense to anyone else and it may seem like I’m just jumping into this because Blaine is the first boy that I have ever had any serious intentions towards,” Kurt admitted. “But Blaine is it for me. He’s been honest and upfront with me, and I know exactly what that entails, and while I’m nervous, I know that this is what I want.”

Their talk was abruptly interrupted when the nurse pushed open the door with a huff. “Those bodyguards get worse and worse.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you know? There are two big burly vampire guards on this room that give all the staff, except Doctor Duvall, the third degree every single time we try to enter your room.”

“They’re giving me bodyguards?” Kurt was freaked out.

“They’re not exactly bodyguards, Kurt. They’re what we call House Guards.”

“Whose house?” Kurt asked.

“You know…the clan chief and the prince otherwise known as Nathaniel and Blaine Anderson.”

Kurt looked at Puck strangely. “What?”

“Dude, we literally just talked about this. They must have you on some serious medicine. My father is head of the army and House Guard. Blaine and his father wanted it and mine made it happen.” Puck jovially answered.

“Good lord there’s more of you? I don’t think I can handle more than one Puck,” Kurt murmured. 

“Hey there is only one Puckasaurus,” Puck protested. “The rest of the guard just wish they were me.”

“I’m sure they do,” Kurt said wryly. “I think I’m still in shock…you have an army?”

“The Council does.”

“But one day the Puckasaurus is going to be in charge of an army?” Kurt’s eyes were blown wide with the admission. “Why does that seem like a really bad idea?”

“Funny Kurt. Told you I was bad assed, dude.”

“Seriously though, you know I don’t need bodyguards, Puck. It’s nice that Blaine is trying to protect me, but I can stand on my own two feet.” 

“Kurt, listen. I know this is weird and probably a little terrifying for you, but there are things you need to understand if you’re planning on being with Blaine. The Anderson family has enemies. The conservative covens don’t think we should have saved the humans and they definitely dislike that we’ve had to rebuild our entire way of life. There are a lot of people who want the power that they hold.” Puck explained.

“But…”

“If you’re with Blaine, you have to get used to the guards, especially since you’re human. You are an even bigger target now. No one else is going to tell you this, but I want to make sure you understand what you’re signing on for. Not just Blaine, but the entire vampire community.”

“Okay, so Blaine and his father have enemies. I get that.”

“And you’re a human. You’re going to be a weakness to both Blaine and his father. You’re a target for those covens because you’re breakable. They know that Blaine would do anything to keep you safe.”

“I don’t want that Puck. I don’t want to be a weakness for Blaine. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this,” Kurt said getting upset. Puck muttered an oath.

“I’m not trying to scare you off Hummel. I just want you to understand that when Blaine or I insist you need a guard or tell you not to go somewhere or do something, it’s not a control thing, it’s a protection thing.”

“I’ll try to remember that Puck,” Kurt promised.

“I know it’s a lot to throw at you, but on the bright side, you end up with the prince.”

“I’m dating a prince. Just like a real life Disney prince.” Kurt mused out loud.

“Disney doesn’t do vampires, Kurt. This is not a fairy tale. So you’d better decide if it’s all worth it for you.”

“It’s not even a question,” Kurt answered firmly.

“Good. Just be happy, then Kurt.” Puck smiled. “I have to get back to McKinley and deal with the Finn, Rachel, and Quinn show this week. That’s always good for some drama.” Puck looked down at his phone. “I gotta go dude. See you later.”

*****

Nick glared furiously at the computer screen in front of him. They’d gone too far this time. They really had. Those idiots at McKinley had sunk to an all time low and if he had anything to say about it they would pay the price. He pulled out his cell phone, sent off a text to Blaine, Wes, and Jeff, who were all in class, and waited. Jeff was first through the door with Blaine and Wes hot on his heels.

“Are you ok Nick?” Jeff said rushing to his side looking slightly panicked. Nick nodded and Jeff pulled the other boy to him holding him tightly. This whole thing had been very difficult for Nick to deal with and they all knew it. It had brought back way too many memories. He’d been having nightmares again and pulling away from contact. His simple 911 text had sent them all running, concerned for his well-being.

“I’m fine… upset, but fine,” Nick reassured his worried friends after he pulled away from Jeff. Blaine frowned.

“Then what’s up?” he asked. Nick took a deep breath.

“I want to show you guys something, but you have to stay calm.”

“That’s not a ringing endorsement, Nicholas.” Wes pointed out.

“Ok… so I was surfing Kurt’s Facebook page.” Nick started.

“Wait…Why would you be doing that?” Blaine asked. Jeff sent him a look.

“You were worried someone would do the same thing to Kurt that they did to you. Weren’t you?” Jeff said quietly. Nick nodded.

“Apparently with good reason. Kurt was tagged in a video from the first attack that was just conveniently posted today. It shows the whole thing from start to finish. Whoever filmed it was there watching the whole time and did nothing to help him. He was… it’s…” Nick swallowed shaking his head, unable to continue. Jeff wrapped him in his arms again.

“Show me,” Blaine demanded his voice deadly.

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea Blaine,” Nick murmured. Blaine’s face hardened.

“Now Nicholas,” he ordered taking a tone of command he seldom if ever used with his friends. Wordlessly, Nick turned the laptop to face Blaine, who played the video which was displayed there. 

The camera went in and out of focus a few times before it finally sharpened on Kurt standing by his locker as a nasally voice spoke.

“This is Jacob Ben Israel and this is the second part of our expose, The Secret Life of Glee. Today’s subject, Kurt Hummel. Gay fashionista or temperamental diva? Kurt is famous at McKinley for both his fashion and his bitchiness, but who is the real Kurt Hummel? Let’s find out.”

At this point in the film, the large letterman jacket clad figure of Dave Karofsky entered the screen and advanced on an unsuspecting Kurt.

“Hey Ladylips! Miss me?” the large boy purred from just behind Kurt who whirled and backed up as far away as the lockers behind him would allow.

“Not even remotely Karofsky. Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Because you're mine,” Karofsky smirked.

“No I’m not. I would think avoiding you since school started would have given you the hint,” Kurt hissed, his eyes wide and scared despite his words.

“Oh come on now baby. We both know you’re just playing hard to get. I see the way you look at me. You’re such a tease Kurt, in those tight jeans. I’m a hunter. All this act is doing is making me want you more, and I’m tired of waiting,” Karofsky growled pinning a struggling Kurt against the lockers and kissing him. Kurt brought his knee up into Karofsky’s groin and the other boy groaned loosening his hold enough so he could get away.

Kurt’s freedom only lasted a few seconds, however, before Karofsky was on him once more grabbing his wrist and snapping it as the blue eyed boy cried out in pain. With a growl, the hulking vampire slammed Kurt into a nearby row of lockers. Kurt cried out again, once more scrambling to try to get away. Karofsky shoved Kurt into the wall, trying to kiss him once more, but Kurt turned his head away. Karofsky snarled, punching Kurt in the face and throwing him to the floor. Kurt continued to struggle weakly as the larger boy descended on him ripping at his clothes.

“Please… please… no!” Kurt begged, only to be backhanded by his attacker, who raised his head showing his face with his fangs fully extended. His mouth descended towards Kurt’s neck when a blur of speed crossed the screen and tackled Karofsky off of Kurt. A brief glance of Puck’s mohawked form was seenbefore the video ended.

“I should have killed him. I should not have et my father or anyone else stop me I should have killed him,” Blaine growled. The vampire prince’s eyes flashed a dark angry red as did Jeff’s and Wesley’s.

“How the hell Kurt survived that and recovered from it enough to be friends with us and willingly become your Chosen One I have no idea,” Nick murmured. 

“We have to make sure that he doesn’t see this.” Jeff added.

“I not only intend to do that, but make sure that those responsible for posting it understand exactly who displeased I am,” Blaine growled, sending a text with flying fingers.

“Who…” Wes began.

“Just letting Puck know to expect a visit,” Blaine said pocketing his phone and striding out of the room.

******

Blaine was barely clamping down on his anger as he stalked into the choir room at McKinley High School. He knew that his boys were right behind him and Puck would be inside. They would all back him up no matter what, not that he would need it in this instance.

“Gentlemen, what are you doing here?” Will Schuester asked, shocked to see the vampires from Dalton Academy at McKinley High School of all places.

“I’m sorry to interrupt Mr. Schuester, but I need to have words with a few of your students,” Blaine said in a polite, if icy, tone. Mr. Schue’s forehead creased in concern.

“This can’t wait until after school hours?”

“No sir. I’m afraid not. I promise all I wish to do is talk. I do not intend to cause anyone in this room harm… for now,” Blaine responded. Mr. Schue sighed, before nodding and gesturing for Blaine to go ahead. Blaine stepped to the center of the room and looked everyone in the room in the eye, pinning Finn and Rachel with identical looks. 

“A video was posted on-line this morning by a Jacob Ben-Israel. It was of the first attack on Kurt. After… speaking with Mr. Ben-Israel, I have every confidence that it will be removed if it has not already been. In our … conversation, I was informed that he was encouraged to post this video by individuals in this room. Because I believe it is what Kurt would want me to do, instead of handing out the punishment which you so richly deserve, I am instead issuing a warning. Kurt Hummel is my Chosen One and as such is under the protection of myself and my House. Those seeking to do him harm will feel my wrath. In short, you will leave Kurt alone. There will be no harassing phone calls, emails, texts, no gossip, and no Facebook messages. If these instructions are not followed…”

“Instructions? Don’t you mean orders? We’re not your little subjects Anderson,” Finn shouted at Blaine and walked menacingly toward him. “You don’t belong here and you aren’t welcome here.”

“Dude, back off.” Puck warned, tensing in his seat.

Ignoring Puck, Finn grabbed Blaine’s shirt, pulling his arm back to punch him. With a swift blur of movement, Puck interceded and Finn found himself on his ass cradling a broken hand with Puck towering over him.

“What the hell dude?” Finn screeched out in pain. Puck glowered at his former friend. 

“I told you to back off, Hudson. No one lays a hand on the prince, especially when I’m around.”

“What happened to loyalty to your friends?” Finn angrily said, ignoring the throbbing pain in his hand.

“Loyalty? You have the nerve to talk about loyalty?” Blaine thundered. “Look what you did to Kurt. He’s your brother, Finn. Noah is my second. Someday he will be the General of the House Guard of the Draculesti. His family has been our protectors since the middle ages. That’s what you call loyalty where we’re from.”

“Puck, perhaps you should go along with Prince Blaine and his friends.” Will said. “I will not allow someone to be attacked in here, no matter how good the reason.”

“I understand Mr. Schue. I kind of knew that when I acted, but I’m honor bound to protect my Prince at all costs. Thanks for everything, sir. I really appreciate all you’ve done for me,” Puck said, disappearing through the door. Mike and Tina exchanged a look before rising to follow, but were stopped.

“Mike and Tina, where are you going?” Will asked the two vampires who were extremely upset.

“Blaine and Kurt are family.” Mike simply answered.

“Kurt is not related to you.” Will pointed out.

“Not yet, but he will be.” Tina smiled brightly.

“Fine Tina. Leave. We don’t need your lackluster vocals and divided loyalties here anyway,” Rachel huffed. Tina rolled her eyes turning to leave before being stopped once more.

“What do you mean he will be?” Mercedes questioned grabbing Tina’s arm. 

“Were you not listening just now, Mercedes? Blaine has declared Kurt is his Chosen One.” Tina replied, pulling her arm out of the other vampire’s grasp.

“He didn’t mean that,” Mercedes scoffed.

“Oh I assure you, I did.” Blaine said coming up to stand protectively behind his cousin.

“But…but…he’s human.” Mercedes was horrified that Kurt was Blaine’s Chosen One.

“You know better than anyone that Kurt’s status can be easily changed.” Tina cheekily added. 

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Mercedes snarled. “After all the trouble he’s caused, Kurt doesn’t deserve to be the Chosen One of our prince.”

“And who are you exactly that you would presume to tell your prince who is and isn’t a suitable mate?” Wes asked haughtily.

“She’s no one of any significance cousin, just common rabble. One who apparently can’t listen to warnings so graciously delivered by her betters. I know you’d rather not have to discipline a female Blaine. Would you like me to take care of it for you?” Tina asked brightly. Blaine’s lip twitched in amusement at his cousins’ set down of his Chosen One’s former friend.

“If you really think she’s worth your time Tina,” Blaine said, studying his nails. “Although, I did promise Kurt I’d bring you for a visit. Will it take long?” 

“Probably not, but I’d rather not keep my new cousin waiting. I suppose I can deal with her later. I’d much rather visit Kurt and help him plan,” Tina smiled, linking arms with Wes and Blaine. “I, for one, am hoping for a fall mating ceremony. The colors are so beautiful that time of the year. And you know Kurt will create something amazing.”

“Are you actually going to attend a mockery of everything we stand for?” Mercedes complained. Tina’s face hardened.

“I suggest you quit while you are ahead Mercedes. Blaine, Wes, and I are being extraordinarily patient with you, but Kurt is going to be family and no one insults one of us without feeling the wrath of the Covens being brought down on their heads” Tina snapped. “And, by the way, if you ever put your hand on my person again, I will rip it off!”

“You have always had a way with words Tina,” Blaine said kissing her cheek. She beamed at him in return.

“Aww… Thanks Blaine. Shall we go gentlemen?” Tina asked. With that, Tina and the boys swept from the room leaving a rather stunned silence in their wake.

 

*****

“Blaine,” Kurt said, his face lighting up at the sight of Blaine walking into his hospital room. Blaine leaned down kissing him softly.

“Hello my love,” he said.

“You’re later than usual. I was starting to think you weren’t coming,” Kurt complained.

“I’m sorry. I had to go to Lima to take care of a little trouble.” Blaine answered, pulling up a chair to Kurt’s bedside.

“Trouble? What’s going on?” Kurt asked.

Blaine looked at Kurt. “I debated telling you about this, but I don’t want to start a relationship with anything less than honesty.”

“Okay…what happened?” Kurt was worried, but happy that Blaine wanted them to be entirely truthful with each other.

“Nick was online today and found a video that you were tagged in.” Blaine slowly started.

“And how does that send you to Lima to take are of trouble?” Kurt asked.

“It was of the first attack.” Blaine answered.

“And I’m friends with Nick online, so he told you, right?”

“He did, as he should. Listen, Kurt, there were comments from several people at McKinley and a little research showed that one of your former friends was the one who posted the pictures. I went and had a little talk with them to show them the error of their ways.”

“Why did you do that?” Kurt angrily asked. “I can stand up for myself.” 

“I know that you can, but you are still recovering Kurt and I can’t help who I am. It is in my nature to protect what is important to me. I won’t let people treat you like that. They need to understand that you are protected. I have no problem with you being independent, but I will intercede if I need to. No one treats you like that, ever. I don’t care who they are. No one does that to you.”

“I love that you want to protect me, but I have to learn how to protect myself. I need to have that opportunity, Blaine.” Kurt picked his words carefully. “I don’t want to lose who I am in you.”

“I would hate for that to happen, Kurt. I love who you are, and I promise I will let you fight your own battles.” Blaine gave a small smile. “But I have no problem stepping in when I feel I need to, and you need to understand that ok?” 

“Fine,” Kurt said rolling his eyes. “I suppose I’ll allow you to be my protector occasionally.’ 

“Thank you love,” Blaine grinned kissing Kurt once more.

“Get your hands off my kid.” Burt burst into the room angry.

“Dad, what the hell? Why are you talking to my boyfriend…” Kurt was aghast that his father was so angry at Blaine for seemingly nothing.

“Your boyfriend had your brother’s wrist broken.” Burt was full of fire.

“You had Finn’s wrist broken?” Kurt gasped.

“That’s not exactly what happened.” Blaine grimaced. He should have known Finn would have lied to his step-father.

“Then why don’t you tell me what did happen?” Burt figured he had to give the kid a chance if he didn’t want Kurt to get upset. But, he was reserving judgment for now.

“All right, sir.” Blaine said. “Finn and his friends thought it would be a good idea to post a video to Kurt’s Facebook page of the first attack. There was no way I was letting them upset him like that. I needed them to understand that he’s not alone and he has protection. No one will ever be allowed to hurt Kurt like that again.”

“Continue.” Burt said, his anger starting to slowly abate.

“Finn thought it would be a good idea to grab me and then take a swing at me. He was warned to back off. His wrist was broken by my House Guard at that point. You know that House Guards are trained to protect their charges at all costs?”

“Yeah, I know that . Finn’s told the story a bit different than you did.” Burt was angry that he’d allowed himself to believe the lie his step-son had concocted to make Blaine look bad. He offered his hand which Blaine took. “I am sorry, kid, for not getting your side first before going off on you.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” Kurt was glad that his father believed Blaine. He had no idea what kind of story Finn had made up to get Burt this fired up. 

“And it’s Kurt’s decision if he wants to date me, sir.” Blaine added as a passing thought.

“Kurt can date whoever he wants, Blaine, but I want to know that he will be safe with you.” Burt said.

“Kurt is a treasure, Mr. Hummel. I’ve been looking for him all my life and I would never do anything to harm the trust he’s put in me.” Blaine smiled as the door was flung open.

Carole stormed in the room, mad as hell. “What is he doing here?”

“He’s dating Kurt and more than welcome to visit.” Burt answered tiredly. 

“That vampire and his thug friends broke our son’s wrist. I don’t think he should be allowed near anyone in our family.” Carole hissed.

“Finn is a liar.” Kurt defended his boyfriend.

“Kurt, let me handle this,” Burt said. “Blaine told me his side of the story and I gotta say his is a hell of a lot more believable Carole.”

“Burt, I can’t believe that you bought whatever story he’s telling you.” Carole whimpered. “My baby is injured and this thing could have ruined Finn’s chances at a football scholarship.”

“Then it’s a life lesson for Finn.” Burt calmly said. “Perhaps this will teach him to think before he speaks or takes action.”

“Humph.” Carole stormed back out of the room.

“Don’t let her attitude bother you boys.” Burt shrugged. “Carole is finally waking up to the fact that Finn isn’t perfect and has flaws.”

“Really? After all this time?” Kurt asked.

“Just be glad that it’s finally happening, son.” Burt tiredly said.

“I’m taking the wait and see approach.” Kurt said. “Dad, why don’t you head home? You have a drive and you look tired.”

“I can stay if you need me.” Burt answered, not wanting to leave his son, but feeling completely worn out from the last few days.

“Dad, go home and get some sleep. All I’m going to do is eat dinner and go to bed. ” Kurt assured his father. He just wanted to make sure his dad was taking care of himself as well.

“All right.” Burt was hesitant to leave if his son needed him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Good night Dad.” Kurt smiled as he watched his father disappear through the door.

“If you need to rest, I should go as well.” Blaine murmured sadly. He really didn’t want to leave, but if Kurt was tired…well, he should go too.

“Do you have to go so soon?” Kurt frowned.

“Not really.” Blaine raised an eyebrow. “Why? What did you have in mind?”

“I wanted you to stay until I fall asleep.” Kurt could feel his cheeks heating up and his heart racing. “I think I’ve gotten used to you being here, because I can’t sleep without you next to me making me feel safe and loved.”

“Then I will stay until you are asleep.” Blaine smiled and took Kurt’s hand in his.

“Thank you.” Kurt murmured, his eyes already drifting closed, knowing his protector was there with him.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

“Once an agreement has been reached between a vampire and his potential mate, a period of courtship occurs during which the intended is showered with gifts and attention. It is during this period that the bonds of the relationship are deepened and more formal arrangements between families are ironed out.”

-an excerpt from “The Vampire: Mythos and Truth” by Dr. Marvin J. Coles, PhD

 

“I’d rather stay at Dalton, Dad.” Kurt argued a few days later. He was finally being discharged, and his dad wanted him to go home for another week before returning to Dalton. He didn’t want to be away from Blaine. He knew he was safe and completely loved and accepted with him in ways he would never be in Lima or even in his own house.

“I know you feel more comfortable there than at home, but I want to keep an eye on you just for a while and you know your friends from Dalton are welcome at the house.” Burt answered. He was planning on staying up all night long, just to watch over his son.

“Kurt, your Dad is right. You aren’t ready to get back into the swing of things at school yet, and I promise I’ll come visit you every day,” Blaine said from his place at Kurt’s bedside. Kurt sighed, throwing his hands up in defeat.

“Fine, but I am moving back into the dorms next weekend,” he said stubbornly. 

“Okay kid. Now let’s get you out of here,” Burt smiled.

***** 

Hummel Home…

“What are you doing here?” Carole sneered as Burt helped Kurt into the house.

“We talked about this Carole. I want my son to be here so I can keep an eye on him.” Burt answered sharply before Kurt could reply. “Come on kid. Let’s get you set up on the couch, then I have to run to the garage for a little bit and make sure the guys are good to go. Ok?”

“Oh… you’re home. So, I heard a rumor. Is it true?” Finn lumbered into the room almost as soon as Burt left, his wrist in a cast. “Did you try to kiss Karofsky?”

“What are you talking about?” Kurt knew he was on a lot of pain meds, but not enough to make him start hearing things.

“Mercedes said that you tried to kiss Karofsky at the ball and he was just defending himself from you.” Finn answered. “Is it true?”

“Of course it’s not true. It's utterly ridiculous.” Kurt was outraged. “Karofsky came to my school and accosted me. If it weren’t for Blaine God only knows how much worse it would’ve been.”

“Oh thank goodness for Mr. Perfect. Are you sleeping with him now?” Finn sneered. “He broke my wrist you know . If anyone is unstable and dangerous, it’s him. You really should think about that, Kurt.”

“Don’t you dare talk about Blaine like that! Your wrist was only broken because you were stupid enough to attack him in front of a member of the House Guard.” Kurt shouted. “My boyfriend is stable and in no way dangerous to me. He loves me with all his heart. And for the record, he is the only person I have ever willingly kissed and no, we are not sleeping together yet.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. I mean, who would want you anyway?” Finn sneered. “He’s just using you Kurt. He’s a prince and you are nothing. He is going to suck you dry when you give him the first chance and leave you in the gutter where you belong.”

“Nice try, Finn, but it’s not going to work. Blaine loves me,” Kurt lightly answered. He never thought he’d get a chance to find a boyfriend in Ohio and now he had found Blaine.

“You were terrified of vampires a few months ago and now you’re dating one? That really says something about you, Kurt.” Carole sneered. 

“I agree. It says that I was strong enough to get over my fears and get to know him and the others. Unlike some people, they never pushed me or talked down to me. They have been the ones there for me through all of this mess.”

“You are a completely unreasonable child, Kurt.” Carole was livid that he would talk to her like that. “Perhaps you need to talk to Dr. Coles again. You are obviously unstable. Who knows what you could do in this state? I mean, you have already sent your boyfriend and his thugs to injure my child. Who is next on your hit list?”

“I don’t have a hit list Carole. Although I would like to know what are you going to do about Finn being the one to tell Karofsky where I was?” Kurt turned on her, letting the comment about Dr. Coles drop. Carole didn’t get to rule his life when she should be focusing on her own child’s issues.

“Excuse me?” Carole’s eyes had fire brewing in them.

“I know Finn and Rachel were arguing at school about me and they inadvertently told Karofsky where I was. How do you think that makes me feel?” Kurt yelled, but feeling the fight drain out of him. “Your son gave Karofsky an engraved invitation to a place where I was supposed to be safe.”

“If you weren’t such a child, we could have resolved the Karofsky situation months ago, but no, you had to be you and let this drag on until it got to this point.” Carole hissed at her step-son.

“What the hell is going on here?” Burt hollered, reacting instinctively. He had entered the house without anyone noticing, so he had heard the last little bit of the argument. Kurt was just home from the hospital after being attacked by Karofsky and home was supposed to be safe for him, not a place where he was attacked yet again by people who were supposed to be his family.

“Burt, your son…”

“No, Carole. I heard exactly what was happening. We will be talking about this, but right now, I am going to move Kurt up to his bed so he can rest and recover in peace.” Burt finally put his foot down. He and his wife were going to get some things straight in private. There were going to be some changes in this house immediately and he really didn’t care who liked them or not. “Oh and by the way, there are guards outside sent by King Nathaniel for Kurt’s protection, but I’m fairly certain that anything they hear will be reported back to Blaine. You might want to keep that in mind.”

Carole crossed her arms over her chest and glared. “I don’t want them here.” 

“Get used to it, Carole. I am certainly not going to go against the Vampire Council when they are protecting my son.” Burt sharply said, ignoring her as he assisted Kurt to his room and tucked him into bed.

Carole stormed out of the kitchen to the sun room where she could be alone. She was tired of having their lives disrupted because of Kurt. The boy was bringing them nothing but trouble anymore. There were going to have to be some changes made sooner rather than later. His corrupting influence needed to be removed from their lives.

“We can’t live with vampires guarding our house simply because Kurt is here.” Carole complained as Burt came back down the stairs. “Can’t he stay somewhere else? “

“He is my son, Carole and he just got out of the hospital. I am not sending him away just because you are uncomfortable with vampires. It’s only for a few days until he goes back to the safety of Dalton.” Burt answered.

“You’re planning on letting him go back there?” Carole was horrified by the idea. “After what he did and all the problems he’s caused?”

“What are you talking about?” Burt was confused by his wife’s rapid subject change.

“This is the second time Kurt has led Karofsky on. Now he has friends who have bought all of his lies and attacked that poor boy. I just can’t believe you are condoning his behavior.” Carole was livid. “You have to hold him accountable for his actions, Burt. This is getting out of control. Kurt is never going to learn to be accountable for himself if you keep babying him like this.” 

“I cannot believe what I just heard coming out of your mouth. Kurt did nothing wrong and I am not babying him. My child was attacked for the second time by the same out of control vampire. If we’re laying blame, it needs to be laid at Finn’s feet since that son of yours doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. If it wasn’t for him, Karofsky wouldn’t have known where Kurt was. I feel sorry for Finn. He’s the one who hasn’t learned anything and, the way things stand right now, he probably never will.”

“How dare you accuse me of being a bad mother?” Carole shrieked.

“I didn’t say anything about you being a bad mother, Carole. I simply am pointing out the fact that your son needs to own up to his responsibility and apologize to Kurt.”

“Finn will never apologize to Kurt because he did nothing wrong. Kurt is always causing problems for anyone who comes into contact with him.” Carole glared hard as a knock on the door interrupted her rant. She stomped to the door, throwing it open, and turning to her husband. “It’s for you.”

Burt approached the door and was relieved to see it was one of the men that had been assigned to guard the house. “Yes?”

“We heard yelling and wanted to check in and make sure no one needed assistance.” The burly vampire said, looking between Burt and Carole. “The Council was very specific about making sure that Kurt was safe and comfortable and what we were to do if he was not.”

“Just a little argument that got loud. No problems.” Burt reassured the vampire guard who had been nothing but friendly at the hospital. Apparently, everyone connected to Dalton and the Vampire Council loved Kurt and wanted him to get well soon.

“We are changing shifts, but two of us will be on duty at all times. No one will approach the house unless they are cleared by you until Kurt goes back to school. Am I correct that Blaine Anderson and the Warblers are more than welcome to visit while Kurt is recovering?”

“You are correct. Anyone from Dalton is more than welcome here. Thank you for letting me know about the shift change. Good night.” Burt nodded and shut the door softly.

“I can’t believe you are condoning this, Burt. You are putting your son before our marriage.” Carole snorted in disbelief. She’d waited a long time to find a man who loved her and now that man was clearly going against everything that she thought he’d stood for.

“That is not true, Carole and you know it. Why don’t we go to bed and deal with this in the morning?” Burt was exhausted between the shop, the drives to Westerville every day to see Kurt, and now fighting with his family. It was all overwhelming him.

“Fine, but I am sleeping in the guest room until you see reason.” Carole stormed off down the hall and slammed the door extra hard.

Burt shook his head and headed up the stairs to peak in on Kurt to find him sleeping peacefully and safe in his own bed. He closed the door slightly before making his way to his own room and his empty bed. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was wrong to be happy that he didn’t have to contend with his wife tonight and could actually get a good night’s sleep.

*****

Finn stumbled bleary eyed out of his room the next morning and stopped when he saw Puck standing outside of Kurt’s room. 

“Puck, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Since I got kicked out of school thanks to you and had time on my hands, I volunteered for extra guard duty.”

“Guard duty?”

“I was ordered to watch over Kurt by the prince.”

“Seriously? You were assigned to guard Kurt in his own house?”

“I was assigned here to protect Kurt from the likes of you and your mother. Prince Blaine wants to make sure his Chosen One is safe and well cared for and you obviously can’t be counted on to do that.”

“Whatever, man. You’re still a traitor. You used to be a bad ass and now you’re nothing more than that preppy boy’s lackey.” Finn grunted.

Puck chuckled. “You don’t get it man and you probably never will. There are things more important than Glee Club and your high school reputation. Maybe if you ever grow up, you’ll understand. And for the record, I’m still a bad ass.”

Finn glared at his ex-best friend and stumbled off to the kitchen for breakfast.

 

Burt would be lying if he wasn’t happy to see Finn leave for school and Carole go to work. At least Kurt would have most of the day to rest and recover without harassment and anger. He had taken the day off because he hadn’t been sure what Kurt would need and he wanted to be home with his son. He brought the breakfast tray he’d made up to him and set it down.

“It’s nothing fancy, but I got some of that cereal you like and some grapefruit and a glass of juice. I want to see it all gone. You’re getting too skinny,” Burt said. Kurt smiled rolling his eyes at his overprotective father.

“I’m not sure who is worse, you or Blaine,” he murmured.

“Since you brought it up and everyone is gone, do you want to talk about this boyfriend of yours?” Burt treaded carefully, even with Carole and Finn out of the house. He wanted his son to talk to him about his life and not shut down like he’d done so many other times.

“Not really.” Kurt wasn’t sure what to say.

“Why not?” Burt inquired. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know how to be a boyfriend, Dad. Blaine is the first boy that has ever expressed genuine feelings for me and he’s a vampire.” Kurt admitted; worried about everything that was happening. “What if I screw this up? What if I do something wrong? What if he doesn’t think I’m worth it?”

“Kurt, Blaine is a vampire, yes, and that does present some other issues, but he’s still a boy like you. He’s obviously someone who wants you and you want him and you aren’t going to screw anything up because you’re both learning from each other. He already thinks you’re worth it because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have stuck around you.”

“What?”

“You’re happy, Kurt, happier than you’ve been in a long time and I think that’s due to Blaine. Son, you do get to be happy and if Blaine makes you happy, then that’s it.” Burt said. “It’s a learning experience and Blaine is not going to leave you because you get something wrong. He gets that this is all new for you. Blaine is going to be there to support you.”

“Thanks Dad.” Kurt was touched by his father’s words.

“You’re welcome kiddo. Now eat,” Burt ordered. Shaking his head, Kurt obeyed.

++++++

“So anyway, after I delivered a scathing set down to Mercedes the Hun, we all stormed out of the choir room and McKinley. Mike and I are being homeschooled for right now, but I’m trying to convince Daddy to let me enroll in Dalton so I can be with you and the guys. If I get my way, next year we’ll all be together,” Tina said grinning.

“Tina, you do know that Dalton is an all-boys school?” Kurt said. Tina grinned.

“And it was an all vampire school until this year. Fight the power Kurt!” she giggled.

“God I have missed you!” Kurt chuckled. “The guys are great, but there is nothing like girl talk.”

“That reminds me, Mike talked to Wes earlier and he wanted to let you know that they would be by as soon as school is over today. They all miss you,” she said.

“I don’t think so dear,” Carole interjected having just walked in the room to put away some laundry. “Those boys have been a bad influence on Kurt. They will not be allowed here if I have my way. Kurt has become way too rebellious and mouthy since going to that school. In fact, I think you’ve done entirely too much laying around. You’re not that injured. As soon as your friend leaves, I expect you to get up and straighten this room, and here, you can put these clothes away as well. I’ll be leaving for work soon. It had better be done when I get home.”

“You know, Mrs. Hummel, I don’t mean to intrude in your family business, but Kurt is my cousin’s intended. It’s only fair to warn you that he will not be pleased if he finds out how you’re treating Kurt.”

“That’s right, dear. It’s none of your business. Perhaps it’s time for you to go home now.”

Tina looked at Kurt.

“Tina, I’ll be fine. Besides, she’s not going to hurt me. She may have forgotten the guards outside, but I haven’t.”

“Kurt…”

“Tina please, just let it lie. It will be alright.” Kurt pleaded. Tina sighed.

“Ok Kurt. I’ll probably come by and see you tomorrow, unless it’s too much for you,” Tina said.

“That’d be great,” Kurt smiled.

 

Tina left the house and got in her car. She immediately reached for her phone to call her cousin and inform him of the latest drama at the Hummel house. She stood by once and let her friend be abused because he’d assured her it was ok. She’d be damned if she would let that happen again, especially not when it was well within her power to fix the situation.

*******

Carole walked in the house after work pleased to see that Kurt had followed her instructions. She hummed happily to herself as she hung up her coat and set her shoes neatly by the door. It wasn’t until she was almost to the stairs when the kitchen door opened and that interfering, and obviously too suave and dapper to be genuine , person that her stepson was dating came out of it with Burt and a competent looking woman in nursing scrubs. 

“What is she doing here?” Carole demanded with a glare.

“She is going to be checking in on Kurt and treating him while he is at home.” Blaine calmly informed her.

“Apparently you were unaware that I am a nurse, Blaine. I am more than capable of taking care of my step-son.” Carole said in a sickly sweet voice.

“Oh no, I knew you were a nurse,” Blaine replied. “And it’s not that you’re not capable, Carole. I just don’t trust you to take care of him properly, especially after my talk with Tina earlier.”

“How dare you! You… you…” Carole spluttered.

“Blaine, why don’t you take Corrine up to visit with Kurt?” Burt suggested, wanting to head off the fight that was brewing. The last thing Kurt needed while he was healing was to have his boyfriend and stepmother in a fight in his living room.

“Don’t bother. She is not staying,” Carole growled.

“Yes Carole. She is,” Burt sighed.

“You’re actually going to allow this Burt?” Carole snapped at her husband.

“Yeah, I am. Kurt needs to recover from this attack. He needs someone he fully trusts to take care of him and you’ve burnt too many bridges with him. The two of you can barely stand to be in the same room together. What makes you think he would let you treat him medically?”

“We can’t afford this. Do you know how much those nurses cost?”

“I can imagine, but we’re not paying for it. Blaine is.”

“Excuse me? Are you really letting your son’s boyfriend do that? Aren’t you worried that people will start to see Kurt as a kept pet to a vampire?”

“Mr. Hummel clearly understands something you don’t.” Blaine said coldly. “Kurt is my Chosen One. You do know what that means, right?”

“I don’t care to know.” Carole snorted.

“Well, I’m going to explain it to you anyway just so we’re clear and have no more misunderstandings.” Blaine said. “Kurt is not just some boy I’m dating. He will soon be my mate and that makes his health and well-being my number one priority. When he’s ready, I will turn him and we will be together for eternity. When my father steps down, I become King. Kurt will rule at my side where he belongs. He is not now nor will he ever be my pet, my toy, my whore, or anything other than my equal in every way. I suggest that you keep a civil tongue in your head where he’s concerned or the wrath of the covens will be brought down on you. Are we clear?” Blaine gave a charming smile to the woman.

“Crystal.” Carole acidly snapped and stormed off to her room.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Hummel, I didn’t mean to cause any further problems, but I will not let anyone talk about Kurt that way.”

“It’s okay, kid. Carole needed to understand and God knows, nothing I’ve said has made a difference. I’ve talked to that woman until I am blue in the face.”

“No offense sir, but maybe it’s time to do more than talk,” Blaine offered. Burt nodded.

“You might be right Blaine. You might be right,”

******

“You have a delivery, Kurt.” Burt brought in the beautiful vase of long stemmed red roses.

“Oh my goodness! Who would send me roses?” Kurt exclaimed. Burt shook his head at his son. 

“There’s a card. Why don’t you find out?” Burt handed him the white florist card. Kurt took the card and a wide smile appeared on his bruised face.

“They’re from Blaine.”

“Really?” Burt said feigning shock.

“You knew,” Kurt accused.

“Didn’t take a genius, son. That boy is head over heels for you. He picked some pretty spiffy flowers though.” Burt was impressed. “What did the card say, if you want to tell me?”

“He wanted me to know he missed me and hoped that the flowers brightened my day.” Kurt’s eyes looked a million miles away.

“From the smile on your face and look in your eyes, I would say they were successful.” Burt joked.

“Can you put them on my dresser please?”

“Sure, kid. You’re due for another dose of pain medication. Do you want it?”

“Yes.” Kurt couldn’t deny he was still in a lot of pain, especially after overdoing it the day before in an effort to avoid the wrath of Carole. Luckily, the home nurse Corinne said he hadn’t pulled out any stitches or anything. As the medicine his father gave him started to kick in, he began to get drowsy and his eyes started to close, his last sight before drifting off were the flowers from Blaine. 

****

By the fourth day, which had been gorgeous orchids, Burt was ready to call Blaine and tell him to quit with the flowers. The florist knew him by name now. Kurt’s new boyfriend had sent roses on the first day, lilies on the second day, and a tropical mix on day three. It didn’t stop with the orchids, however. It was bouquets of irises and wildflowers on days five and six. Burt was starting to wonder if he needed to build a greenhouse and Kurt was in seventh heaven as he thanked his father for bringing up another flower delivery. Kurt’s room looked like a meadow in bloom, but to Burt the most beautiful thing in the room was his son’s smile.

“Are you planning on taking these all back to Dalton with you on Monday?” Burt asked with a laugh and a bemused shake of his head. He just couldn’t get over how happy Kurt was when each day another arrangement and card was delivered. That was nothing however compared to how happy Kurt was when the boy himself came to visit.

“I was thinking of donating them to a care facility since they will be too difficult to take back to school.” Kurt answered.

“That’s a nice thought, but won’t your boyfriend be upset if you do that?” Burt raised an eyebrow.

“I would like to think that Blaine would want flowers that brought me such happiness to bring others the same kind of happiness, but I am taking the roses with me.” Kurt laughed.

 

******

Blaine lightly knocked on the door.

“Oh… it’s you,” Carole said when she opened the door to find her step-son’s little friend on the other side. She sent him an annoyed glare before asking, “What do you want?”

“May I come in? I’d like to see Kurt.” Blaine pleasantly replied to her question.

“If I say no, does that mean you can’t come in?” Carole snarled.

Blaine refrained from laughing in the haughty woman’s face. “That’s a myth Mrs. Hummel. I’ll just wait until you are gone to visit Kurt if it’s a problem.”

“Even if it’s not a myth, it’s my house too and any of Kurt’s friends are welcome here.” Burt helpfully added as he came down the stairs, getting a glare and a storm off from his wife. “More flowers?”

“I wanted to bring a gift for Kurt. I know how much he likes floral scents.” Blaine answered.

“He gets that from his mom. Lizzie loved flowers too. Her favorites were sunflowers. Kurt likes roses,” Burt said a faraway look in his eyes as he thought about his first wife.

“Mr. Hummel, I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I would like to have your permission to court Kurt,” Blaine formally said.

Burt was shocked by the words. “That’s a little old fashioned, kid, besides, I was sort of under the impression that’s what you were already doing.”

“It’s proper and good breeding that I express my intentions to Kurt’s family…in this case, I felt that you would be the most receptive to my declaring my interest.” Blaine explained.

“I just want Kurt to be happy and if dating you makes him happy, you have my permission to date or express your interests.” Burt said with a wave of his hand.  
Blaine took a deep breath. “I don’t know what you know about vampire life, but when a vampire finds the right person…they generally mate for life.”

“As much as part of me wants to make you go through with this whole thing, I’ll save you some time and embarrassment and explain to you that your father talked to me about all this that first night in the hospital. I’m still getting used to the idea Blaine, but you make Kurt happy so you have my support.” Burt said. “I haven’t really talked to him about it, but I assume Kurt knows all this and is ok with it as well?”

“I think he’s nervous about both the turning and the mating, but I want you to know that I would never pressure him or rush him into making a decision. I am perfectly fine waiting for him.” Blaine answered. “I would wait for him forever.”

“That’s good to know. Listen kid since you are formally courting my son,” Burt said fighting the urge to laugh at the old fashioned choice of words. “Why don’t you join us on Friday for family dinner?”

“I’d like that very much sir,” a genuine smile lighting up his face, not the polite one Burt had previously seen from him.

“Thank you for coming to talk to me Blaine. I appreciate it. It shows that you respect my son, and that’s important to me. Now, you better go on up. He’s been waiting to see you all day, and if I know Kurt, he heard you come in and is worrying himself sick wondering why you haven’t made it up there yet.” Burt grinned.

“Thank you, Mr. Hummel.” Blaine climbed the stairs with a light heart now that he knew Kurt’s father understood his intentions and accepted his and Kurt’s relationship.  
Kurt was lying in his bed, surrounded by the beautiful flowers that Blaine had paid to have delivered every single day. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t been looking forward to the daily deliveries.

The light knock on his door had him turning to see a hand holding a bouquet of flowers. Kurt giggled.

“Blaine!” Kurt was giddy that his boyfriend had come to visit him. “More flowers? Did you buy a greenhouse or something?”

“Of course not, but I wanted you to know that I was thinking of you even when we weren’t together.” Blaine was pleased to see the flowers arranged in Kurt’s bedroom. Sending flowers had been the least he could do for the boy who had changed his life and made it better.

“Honey, you can’t spend all this money on flowers for me.” Kurt was touched that Blaine had been so thoughtful.

“Kurt, I have more money than I know what to do with and I like spending it on things I know you’re enjoying.” Blaine paused for a moment. “Did you not like the flowers?”

“I loved the flowers, but it’s too much.”

“You are worth every single flower in these bouquets, Kurt.”

“Thank you.” Kurt leaned up to kiss his boyfriend. Blaine sat down on the bed next to him and Kurt snuggled into his side. “Now, tell me about your day.”

This had become a ritual with the two boys. Blaine would come visit Kurt everyday as soon as school was over, often with a couple of their friends. They would talk about each other’s day and just enjoy their time together.

“Well, first of all, your father invited me to Friday Family Dinner,” Blaine informed him. Kurt’s eyes widened and he let out a happy little squeal.

“He did? Oh Blaine! That means he likes you. You are the only person, besides Carole and Finn, who he’s ever invited,” Kurt informed him. “I just hope everyone behaves themselves.”

“Kurt, I’m a vampire. I think I can handle anything Finn or Carole try to throw at me.” Blaine replied confidently, a smirk forming on his face…already thinking of ways to make Finn uncomfortable. 

“All right, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you.” Kurt shook his head. Friday night dinner was going to be a disaster of epic proportions.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

“Despite the positive relationship between the Vampire and human governments, pockets of ignorance amongst the humans still exist. These misguided individuals still believe many of the very myths we fostered for our protection. They hang garlic by their doors, carry Holy Water in their purses, and sharpen stakes in their garages and basements convinced that someday we will turn on them and swoop in to drain them dry.”

-an excerpt from “The Modern Vampire: Rules, Roles, and Expectations” by Daisy Belle Hughes

 

Friday night…

“You look nice.” Blaine told Kurt when he answered the door. He was pleased to see Kurt up and about and looking mostly healthy, other than the bruises and bite mark which would take time to fade.

“You think so?” Kurt was caught off guard by the compliment. People usually didn’t compliment him for anything. It was a learning experience being with someone like Blaine.

“Of course I do.” Blaine reassured his boyfriend, leaning in to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “I think you look nice in everything.”

“Thank you.” Kurt answered blushing. “Are you ready to do this? This is your first Friday night dinner of what I hope are many more to come.”

“I am ready for anything they might say or do.” Blaine answered, holding Kurt’s hand tighter. “And Friday night dinners are just something more to look forward to with you, Kurt.”

“It’s just…” Kurt trailed off.

“Kurt, I know you’re nervous about this dinner with Carole and Finn. I love you and nothing they say will change that. Their opinions don’t matter. The only person I’m concerned about is your father liking me.”

“Blaine, my dad thinks you hang the moon because you make me happy.” Kurt giggled. “I told you before he wouldn’t have invited you if he didn’t like you. Now let’s go face the firing squad.”

“Bullets don’t really hurt me Kurt,” Blaine grinned. “Now if they’re in there sharpening stakes… all bets are off.” Kurt giggled.

“Dork… those don’t do much to you either,” he pointed out.

“I know, but it made you laugh. Now come on. Let’s go have some quality family time,” Blaine said. Kurt took his hand and led him into the living room where Burt was watching a basketball game and Carole and Finn were nowhere to be seen.

“Hey kid. Glad you could make it,” Burt said in greeting.

“Thank you again for having me. Is that the Buckeyes?” Blaine asked, eyeing the game with interest.

“You follow basketball?” Burt asked surprised. Blaine nodded.

“Somewhat. I like football better, but I am an avid Ohio State fan,” he replied.

“Have a seat son. You can share my pain because right now we’re getting our asses handed to us by the Illini,” Burt remarked. Blaine cringed.

“Illinois is tough to beat this year,” he said sitting down on the sofa his eyes on the game. He and Burt continued to make small talk about sports in general and Ohio State in particular, while Kurt watched with a smile on his face. Just as the buzzer sounded for half time, Carole stomped into the room with a sour expression on her face.

“Dinner is served,” she intoned, before turning on her heel and leaving the room once more. 

Burt and the boys made their way to the dining room where the table had been beautifully set by Kurt before Blaine arrived. They were quickly joined by Finn who immediately began sending Blaine hostile glares while rubbing at his broken wrist, until his mother stormed into the room, attracting everyone’s attention.

“I hope dinner is acceptable.” Carole snidely said as she slammed a bowl down on the table and took her seat.

“I’m sure it will be fine.” Blaine answered, serving himself.

“You can eat?” Finn stared at Blaine with wide eyes.

“Finn!” Kurt hissed.

“What? It was a valid question,” Finn smirked. “I was just curious.”

“Curious, my ass. You’ve been friends with Puck for years, you know perfectly well…” Kurt stopped mid rant when Blaine placed a hand on his arm.

“It’s okay, love. I don’t mind. Finn, we can eat regular food when we wish, but blood is what sustains us.” Blaine patiently answered Finn. “I happen to like mashed potatoes and beef. Jeff, on the other hand, loves chicken. He wanted me to tell you he says hi by the way.” At the mention of the blonde vampire’s name, Finn began to choke on his food and Kurt had to stifle his laughter with his napkin.

“Are you alright Finn?” Kurt innocently inquired. 

“I’m fine,” Finn growled when he was able to, viciously stabbing at the green beans on his plate. “So why are you hooking up with someone like Kurt?”

“Someone like Kurt?” Blaine asked with ice in his voice. “Exactly what do you mean?”

“Well you know…he’s human and after everything with Dave… he’s sort of damaged goods also.” Finn shrugged. He didn’t exactly know how to ask why a royal vampire was lowering himself to be with a terribly misguided human.

“Let me make this perfectly clear. There is nothing wrong with Kurt. He is in no way damaged, nor is he inferior to me. I love him with all of my heart, and I feel extremely fortunate to have him in my life,” Blaine answered with confidence. He had always known since their first meeting that Kurt was it for him and no one else could compare.

“That’s rich, coming from someone like you.” Carole was in absolute horror at hearing Blaine, a well-respected vampire, dote all over her awful step-son.

“Whatever do you mean, Mrs. Hummel?” Blaine patiently asked, his smile never leaving his face. He’d learned how to deal with disrespectful people at an early age and Carole Hudson-Hummel was nowhere the worst he’d dealt with.

“Why did you pick a human when you could have had someone like yourself?” Carole pointedly asked, unashamed of her rude behavior. “I mean, you are royalty and Kurt is…nobody.”

“Someone like a vampire, is that what you mean?” Blaine had been waiting for the question since he’d walked into the house with Kurt. He ignored the comment about Kurt not being right for him. Kurt was the perfect boy for him.

“Well, yes. I’m sure a vampire like yourself has many options to choose from and you chose Kurt. I just don’t understand why you would pick him when there are better people out there.” Carole smirked boldly.

“I chose the only one who spoke to my heart.” Blaine looked over at Kurt with the softest smile he’d had since they’d walked into the house. “Kurt is the one that I want… the only one I will ever want. He’s the only one that could ever make me happy. Now that I’ve found him, I am never letting him go. He is most definitely not a nobody, ma’am. He is my Chosen One.”

“Do you even know his reputation?” Finn jumped back into the conversation. “Have you heard any of what he did to another vampire? How can you even look at him if you know what he’s done? Isn’t that disrespectful to all the other vampires out there?”

“I am well aware of the rumors about Kurt and I know that none of them are true.” Blaine adamantly said. “Even if I hadn’t gotten to know who Kurt was without listening to all of the lies swirling around, my father is the head of the Council, as I will be someday, so I was privy to a great majority of information concerning the situation that sent Kurt to Dalton.”

“Still,” Finn was skeptical. “I mean, it’s not like Kurt is a prize or anything. You’re like prince of the vampires and you’re settling for Kurt of all people.”

“I’m not settling for anything, Finn. Why is this so difficult for you to understand? Are you really that stupid? Kurt is completely a prize to me; one that is to be loved and treasured, something which I fully intend to do for eternity.”

“Whatever dude. You’re the one being stupid,” Finn scoffed at the bold words. “Because mark my words, you will regret letting him into your lives. We certainly do. Hell, he’ll probably stake you and all your friends one night.”

“Finn!” Kurt was angry that his step-brother would start a family feud in front of his boyfriend.

“What?” Finn smirked as he looked at Kurt. “Your boyfriend deserves to know the truth about who you really are. I mean, Quinn did have a point when she was talking about how dangerous you are to everyone around you. It’s only a matter of time before you do something crazy and hurt someone. You definitely should be locked up for everyone else’s safety.”

“Finn.” Burt said with a warning tone in his voice. He wished that his wife and step-son would just let Kurt be happy and have this moment. It wasn’t like Kurt had a lot of happy moments in his life, and yet they apparently couldn’t even allow him just this one.

“That’s all right, Mr. Hummel.” Blaine gave a friendly smile to the man who was working so hard to keep this as peaceful as he could. “I know there are still those uneducated humans out there like Finn. Stakes, garlic, and holy water don’t work on us. McKinley is certainly lacking in their educational classes on vampire-human relations. I’m sure my father will want to remedy that situation. There is very little a wimpy human like you could do to me and I wouldn’t be worried about Kurt hurting me even if I did think that he was unstable.”

“I’ll show you wimpy.” Finn dove across the table to get at Blaine. Plates and glasses and silverware went flying and shattering all over the kitchen. Before the large boy could even touch him, Blaine was out of his chair, had easily sidestepped Finn, and was holding him pinned against the wall with one hand. His eyes glowed red and he looked furious. 

“You dare to attack a Prince of the Draculesti?” Blaine hissed fangs bared.

“Oh my god! Dad, do something!” Kurt screamed hysterically at his father.

“BOYS! BREAK IT UP NOW!!!” Burt shouted at the top of his lungs, causing both young men to stop and stare at him. “There will be no violence in this house.”

Blaine looked ashamed that he’d let himself be baited into a fight in front of Kurt’s father. He gently set a shaken Finn back down on his feet. “Mr. Hummel, I apologize for my behavior this evening. It was wrong and I am so sorry. I assure you this is not how I settle disagreements.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Blaine. Finn is the one who needs to apologize to both you and Kurt for his appalling behavior.” Burt’s voice was hard and unforgiving.

“What?” Finn spun angrily around to face his step-father. “No way, Burt.”

“You caused this mess, Finn, by not letting up on Blaine, and then attacking him. I don’t tolerate that and you know it. Apologize to them now.” Burt stared at his step-son with hard eyes.

“No fucking way. You can’t make me do that.” Finn screamed; his face twisting in anger.

“I can and will unless you want to be grounded for the next month and that means no games and no girls. Take your pick.” Burt thundered.

“Mom!” Finn looked over at his mother.

“Oh, don’t worry honey, Burt and I will be discussing this. Dinner is over, and Blaine, I think it would be best for you to leave our home.” Carole smiled sickly at the boys.

“Dad!” Kurt protested. Burt sighed, pulling out his wallet and handing Kurt two twenties.

“Why don’t you two go out for desert and some of that fancy coffee you like? I’ll handle things here. I expect you back by ten, Kurt,” Burt said ushering the couple out of the house.

 

The Lima Bean…

“… I thought Wes was going to put his gavel through Jeff’s head,” Blaine chuckled, by unspoken agreement they had refrained from talking about the uncomfortable dinner earlier, choosing instead to enjoy their time together. Kurt grinned shaking his head as Blaine finished telling him about today’s Warbler meeting as they sat in a very secluded booth at the Lima Bean, Kurt’s go to coffee shop.

“That boy will never learn,” he murmured, before suddenly turning serious. “Blaine, I go back to school in a couple of days, and I know all of the guys know, but we really haven’t talked a whole lot about what everyone at Dalton is going to think.”

“What do you mean Kurt?” Blaine asked frowning.

“Have you told anyone about us?” Kurt shyly asked…he didn’t want to be a dirty little secret. Not that he thought Blaine would do that, but he wanted to be out and proud with his boyfriend.

“All the people who matter to me know how I feel about you, Kurt…but the school as a whole doesn’t know yet. Do you want them to know?” Blaine didn’t want to overstep yet.

“I want to be able to proudly walk down the hall holding your hand.” Kurt quietly admitted. “I’ve never gotten the chance to do that and I hope you want that too…”

“I want you to be comfortable with anything we do, Kurt, and if you want us to hold hands and walk down the halls of Dalton, we will. I just didn’t want to say anything until I knew you were comfortable with it,” Blaine confidently said. He wanted to make every dream of Kurt’s come true. “I’ll let my dad know so he can make some sort of an official announcement.”

“Official announcement?” Kurt asked, his eyes widening. 

“I am the heir to the Throne of the Draculesti, love. My private life is sort of public domain. That’s part of the reason for the guards,” Blaine said, nodding towards the two vampires who had been very discretely following them and insuring their privacy. “Just in case people found out before we were ready. Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Blaine carefully studied his intended looking for any sign of doubt. 

“Yes. I am proud to be with you Blaine. I love you and I want everyone to know it,” Kurt said firmly.

“I’ll see that the announcement is made before Monday,” Blaine said with a wide, happy smile.

“Good…so do you suppose it would be appropriate for the prince to bestow a kiss upon his Chosen One?” Kurt blushed hard.

“That is one request I am more than happy to grant.” Blaine smirked, glancing around to make sure that they weren’t being observed, before his mouth descended upon Kurt’s.

******

Instead of returning to Dalton that evening, Blaine went home to talk with his father. He found him in his study.

“Dad? Do you have a moment?” Blaine asked.

“Blaine, what are you doing home? Everything alright?” Nathaniel Anderson asked, rising from behind his desk and hugging his son.

“Everything is fine Dad. Better than fine, actually. I just had a few things I needed to talk to you about,” Blaine said.

“Oh?” Nathaniel asked. Blaine nodded, sitting in the chair near the desk, while his father sat back down behind it.

“I want to know what’s happening with the Karofsky situation.” Blaine said. Nathaniel regarded his son with a raised eyebrow.

“Blaine, that situation does not concern you.” Nathaniel said sternly. He knew he had to tread carefully with his son, especially since he had stated his intentions to make Kurt Hummel his Chosen One.

“It certainly does. It concerns my Chosen One.”

“All the more reason for you to be kept out of this,” Nathaniel said. “We wouldn’t want any perception of bias when word of the relationship becomes public.”

“Are you trying to say you think we should hide this?” Blaine said his eyes narrowed in anger. Nathaniel shook his head.

“Of course not Blaine. I just want you to be certain before you reach the point of no return with this. Emotions were running pretty high the night of the ball and afterwards while Kurt was in the hospital. Are you still as committed to this path now as you were then?”

“My feelings haven’t changed Father, and neither have Kurt’s” Blaine said stiffly. Nathaniel sighed. He hated when his son pulled away from him like this, but as both king and a single parent, he had to play the bad guy more often than he liked.

“I didn’t expect that they would, Blaine. And his family? How do they feel?” Nathaniel asked, curious to see how Burt Hummel was coping since their talk.

“Kurt’s father just wants him to be happy and my Chosen One does not put much stock into what his step-mother and step-brother think anymore.”

“Are you sure this is what you want, Blaine?” Nathaniel asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I like Kurt, but he is does have some issues which you can’t just brush aside. He’s been attacked by the same vampire twice in the last six months. He was terrified of you and the boys when he started school. Are you really sure?”

“I have never been more sure of anything in my life.” Blaine said firmly. “I know there are certain aspects of this which are going to be difficult for Kurt, but we’re going to work through them together.”

“It’s not an easy path you want to take. There will be people on both sides who will have issues. Are you prepared for that?”

“I will be able to face anything with Kurt at my side.” Blaine smiled.

“I take it you are wishing to make the formal announcement then?” Nathaniel asked. Blaine nodded.

“We are,” Blaine agreed.

“Then congratulations my son,” Nathaniel said with a smile. “For the record, I am quite pleased with your choice. We’ll work with Michael in the morning on the press release. Now about the Karofsky thing…”

“I have a right to know,” Blaine insisted.

“I know he’s your Chosen One, but this is highly irregular.” Nathaniel Anderson reminded his son. “There are protocols that have to be followed.”

“I have to know, Dad. I have to be able to protect him.” Blaine pleaded with his father.

“Again this is highly irregular, and I can’t tell you everything, but I will share a few details with you.” Nathaniel conceded at last.

“Thank you,” Blaine responded.

“Just make sure you are discrete with this information Blaine. As you are already aware of, Dalton has increased its security for everyone’s safety. I would prefer if you or one of the boys were with Kurt at all times. Our House Guard has also been pressed into service on campus. I also ask that you or someone accompany Kurt off campus when he goes home. We are trying to be unobtrusive in Lima, but there may come a time where you have to explain this to Kurt. I don’t want him to be upset if he thinks he’s being followed.”

“I’ll talk to him, Dad.” Blaine said. “Kurt’s observation skills are pretty good. He’s going to know something is up and I won’t lie to him.”

“We are also looking to get Noah Puckerman reinstated at Dalton. He has shown an unswerving loyalty to both you and Kurt and would be a valuable ally to have there. I have never been comfortable with his expulsion anyway,” Nathaniel added.

“And Karofsky himself?” Blaine asked. “ Is he at Inchisoare Prison?” Nathaniel smiled coldly.

“I am not going to tell you where he is at, Blaine. I am not that stupid and I know you well. Suffice it to say he is locked away until his trial and he is not in a happy or comfortable place.”

 

Late Sunday afternoon, Kurt pushed open the heavy doors that lead into the building. He smiled, happy to be back, but already missing his father. Kurt knew his dad had stayed up all night to just watch over him, even though there were big burly vampires guarding the house the entire time he’d been there. He would even swear they’d followed him up to the drive of Dalton. 

“Do you have any idea how amazing it is to walk down the hall and be able to hear your heartbeat again?”

Kurt whirled to see his boyfriend leaning against a classroom doorframe. He pushed off of it and went to Kurt, kissing him deeply before pulling back and smiling.

“Hi,” he murmured.

“Hi,” Kurt responded grinning in return.

“Are you okay? I know it was kind of a drive for you.” Blaine asked, putting an arm around Kurt and steering him down the hall.

“I’m a little sore, but I will be okay. I missed you,” He admitted. Being trapped at home with his dad wasn’t his ideal plan, but it had allowed him to have quite a few in-depth and important conversations. “I would have liked to have seen you more this weekend, but I understand you had things to attend to with your Dad.” Blaine nodded.

“Like the official press release. It went in the paper this morning by the way. The main reason I stayed away though was because you needed to rest and spend time with your father. I also didn’t want your last couple of days at home to be filled with fights with Finn and Carole.” 

Kurt smiled. “It was nice spending time with my dad, but the rest of the family, not so much, as you can imagine, but I no longer put any stock into Carole or Finn’s opinions.”

“What happened?” Blaine was immediately worried. Finn was hostile toward them on the best of days and he’d not been impressed with what he had seen of Carole. “And why didn’t you call me right away?”

“Finn and Carole think I instigated this attack from Karofsky. Don’t tell me you haven’t heard the latest gossip.” Kurt sighed. He wished he’d called Blaine just to talk to him.

“I’ve heard it and you know we know the truth.” Blaine answered quickly. He wasn’t about to admit that if it weren’t for Nick and Wes, he would have gone to Lima and taken out his anger on a few deserving people. “Gossip isn’t worth anything when you know the truth.”

“I’ve decided to rise above it and just enjoy my new life with my fabulous boyfriend and amazing friends,” Kurt shrugged. He didn’t want to put anymore thought into the whole thing. He was just happy to be back at school where no one was going to give him hell. “Don’t we have class?”

“Yeah, we do. Come on.” Blaine took his hand as they walked down the hall. “And you know no one here will repeat the gossip.”

“I know that, Blaine.” Kurt answered. “This is a safe place for me.”

\----

“Well, well, well…the eye candy is back.” Jeff smirked as Kurt walked down the hallway. “My day has just improved a thousand fold.”

Blaine smacked Jeff in the back of the head and snarled, putting a possessive arm around Kurt.

“Dude!” Jeff shoved Blaine back.

“My eye candy Jeff. Get your own and keep your hands off of my Chosen One.” Blaine tightened his arm around Kurt slightly, just enough to show possession, but not enough to cause his boyfriend any pain.

“Oh, well, isn’t that convenient. I guess we need to knock on their room door now that it’s all official.” Jeff grinned wiggling his eyebrows. Kurt blushed, hiding his face in Blaine’s shoulder.

“Jeff, leave them alone, but congratulations by the way,” Nick said hugging Kurt.

“Congratulations and welcome to the family,” Wes added his well wishes to the others, before grinning and adding impishly. “But please remember we all have excellent hearing and your room is not soundproofed. I don’t want to hear my cousin doing the do.”

“Then wear earplugs,” Blaine retorted leading Kurt away from their friends and towards their dorm room. “Come on love let’s get you unpacked.”

“I guess this is a little awkward for people.” Kurt said as he and Blaine entered their room.

“What is?”

“A dating couple sharing a dorm room?” Kurt raised an eyebrow.

“They were only teasing love, but if it makes you uncomfortable, we can arrange for you to share a room with someone else. Say Nick or Jeff?” Blaine said, a little disappointed. He had been looking forward to spending as much time as he could with Kurt.

“Hell no.”

“Good. I was really hoping you’d say that,” Blaine smiled. “ It is probably a good idea for us to set up boundaries that we’re both ok with though. I want you to be as comfortable as you can here.”

“Thank you for understanding,” Kurt said, shyly stepping forward and kissing Blaine, who gave a low hum of pleasure.

“You are very, very welcome,” Blaine said his voice husky. Kurt blushed, turning away to start his unpacking. Stopping when he spotted his bed.

“Why is there a gift box on my bed, Blaine?” Kurt looked at him quizzically.

“I just wanted to give you something to welcome you back to school.” Blaine shrugged.

“Blaine, the gifts are not necessary. I am just happy to be with you.”

“I know that they’re not necessary, but I love being able to gift you with little things, Kurt. That’s what makes me happy.” Blaine said.

“Well…it is a gift and it would be rude not to open it.” Kurt smirked.

“Yes, it would.” Blaine smiled back at his boyfriend, thrilled to have him back at Dalton where he belonged. Kurt opened the package exclaiming in delight over the framed picture of the two of them dancing at the ball.

“Tina took it,” Blaine informed him.

“It’s perfect,” Kurt said, placing it on his bedside table as he stifled a yawn. “I’m sorry. I still can’t believe how tired I am.” 

“You need rest then, Kurt. Get into your pajamas and sleep.” Blaine suggested firmly. “The teachers aren’t expecting your homework to be done from the time off. They’ll understand you need extra time and will give it to you.”

Kurt painfully slid off his shirt, Blaine gasped at the bruises littering Kurt’s body. He hadn’t expected it to be that bad.

“No one will ever hurt you like that again.” Blaine growled low in his throat.

“Blaine…”

“No, Kurt. I love you and you are mine. I will make it my duty to make sure you are not hurt like this again. Do you know how much it kills me to see you like this?” 

Blaine began placing kisses over the bruises…wishing he could make them disappear. His Chosen One should have never been touched in such a brutal way. When he had kissed each mark, he carefully picked Kurt up with the utmost tenderness and gently laid him down on the bed, stretching out next to him and pulling him into his embrace. Kurt sighed, snuggling into Blaine’s chest and falling asleep in moments.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

“His Majesty Chief Nathaniel Tepes Anderson, Dracul of the Clan Draculesti, wishes to announce the selection of a Chosen One by his son Prince Blaine Vladimir Anderson. Prince Blaine and his Chosen One Kurt Elizabeth Hummel, the son of Bertram and the late Elizabeth Hummel of Lima, Ohio, met while attending Dalton Academy together. The couple have not set a date for their mating ceremony or for Mr. Hummel’s turning at this time.”

-official betrothal announcement for Prince Blaine Anderson and Mr. Kurt Hummel

 

“Good morning.” Blaine greeted lightly when Kurt opened his eyes and stretched his arms above his head. He had held Kurt all through the night, going without sleep himself so that he could be awake to sooth away any nightmares. Luckily, he didn’t require much sleep anyway.

“Good morning to you too.” Kurt smiled.

“How did you sleep?” Blaine asked.

“Better than I have in a while.” Kurt admitted. “It’s nice to be back here where I know I’m completely safe.”

“I’m glad to have you here where you belong.” Blaine whispered. 

The boys rose and quickly got ready for class. They left their room holding hands with happy smiles on their faces, content to just be together again. As they walked down the hall, Kurt was shocked at the number of people who stopped him to offer their congratulations. Even once he became comfortable at Dalton, he had still been intimidated by the much taller and stronger vampires that inhabited the school. Today though, it seemed as if everyone was giving way to him and being, for lack of a better word, deferential. He mentioned it to Jeff and Blaine on the way to their shared history class. Jeff grinned.

“It’s the power of a title Kurt.”

“I don’t have a title,” Kurt scoffed.

“Not yet, but you will,” Jeff told him. Kurt turned to Blaine with wide eyes.

“A real title like yours?” Kurt looked at Blaine expectantly.

“Not exactly like mine, but very similar.” Blaine answered. “Yours will be Prince Consort Kurt Hummel-Anderson of the Royal House of Draculesti.

“That’s going to take some time getting used to.” Kurt lightly laughed.

“It probably will.” Jeff said with a smirk. “We should practice. So, Prince Consort, care to walk with me to class?”

“Oh, I suppose I can, Lord Sterling. I guess that it wouldn’t be too much of a hardship to share my time with you.”

“I am so glad that you and Blaine got together.” Jeff smirked.

“Not as glad as I am,” Kurt grinned. “Now… about you and Nick…”

*****

“You wanted to see me, Headmaster Schaffer?” Kurt said a trifle nervously. He’d been rather surprised to have been summoned to the headmaster’s office his second day back, although Blaine and his friends assured him that it was probably nothing.

“Please come in, Kurt. There’s no need to be concerned. I just wanted to have a little chat with you today.”

“About?”

“What’s going on in your life. You know I like to keep up to date on my student’s lives, and there has been quite a bit going on in yours lately.”

“You heard about Blaine and me.” Kurt surmised.

“I had heard the latest gossip and it’s been a while since I’ve been able to talk with you,” the headmaster conceded with a nod.

“Things have gotten so much better sir. I am happy… really happy.”

“I am glad that the Karofsky situation hasn’t affected your ability to find happiness with someone.”

“It’s not perfect,” Kurt acknowledged. “Blaine and I are still working through a lot of things. It’s not like the Karofsky situation is completely over yet for me. It’s still affecting my life, but Blaine is helping me move past it.”

“That’s very good to hear Mr. Hummel. I’m glad that you are taking a realistic approach to things, and not just pretending as if all is right with the world so to speak. Be that as it may however, I would still like you to have a session with Dr. Miller this week.”

“Dr. Miller?” Kurt asked, the name unfamiliar to him.

“Dr. Coles is gone on a sabbatical and Dr. Miller has agreed to fill in for a few weeks until Dr. Coles gets back. Kurt, I want to assure you that Dr. Miller is highly qualified and would have never been allowed to come here if he did not come with the highest of recommendations. Dr. Coles felt he would be a suitable replacement as well” Headmaster Schaffer hastened to reassure Kurt. He wanted his student to feel comfortable with the change. He had become rather fond of the young human and was truly impressed with how far he had come in his short time at Dalton.

“I think I probably need it.” Kurt admitted.

“I know Dr. Miller is available any time you need to see him, Kurt. I’m certain that you will like him. Like all of us, he wants you to do well at Dalton and in life.”

“Dr. Coles has been very helpful in the past and if Dr. Miller got a recommendation from Dr. Coles, I think it will probably be okay. This Dr. Miller knows my history, right?” Kurt asked, not wanting to explain everything again.

“Dr. Coles went over all his active patients before he left.” Headmaster Schaffer explained.

“Thank you.” Kurt said.

*****  
Blaine and Kurt walked into the classroom just before class began only to find two seats open that were on opposite sides of the room. There was no way they were sitting apart today. It just wasn’t happening.

Blaine looked at Nick with a narrowed look in his eyes.

Nick grabbed his things and gave a heavy huff. “Fine, I will move this time, but you need to get to class early if you want to sit together.”

“Thank you Nick.” Kurt smiled. They had barely sat down however when a student Kurt was unfamiliar with came into the room and handed the professor a note.

“Mr. Anderson, Mr. Hummel, you are wanted in Dr. Miller’s office,” their instructor informed them. The boys exchanged puzzled looks and gathered their things, heading for the school psychologist’s office which was located in the administrative wing.

\----

“I’m still a little confused as to why we had to be pulled out of class today” Blaine complained. 

“I feel it is important to expedite Kurt’s recovery.” Dr. Miller explained. “We need to explore all of his significant relationships and make sure none of them are toxic for him.”

“Toxic for him? This is beyond insane,” Blaine growled.

“There’s no need for you to be so defensive, Blaine.” Dr. Miller said. “Why are you feeling this way? I think we should explore your possessive feelings along with those defensive ones.”

“I am not defensive or possessive, merely stating my feelings.” Blaine hated this. Dr. Coles had always been so nice and comforting and Dr. Miller was a jerk; he was already finding a way to turn things back on him and he didn’t like it at all. He especially didn’t like the way the man seemed to make Kurt shrink in on himself. He directed a glare at the man which had him raising a considering eyebrow in Blaine’s direction.

“I do have to say that I am disturbed by this level of hostility that you are showing. Kurt, do you feel safe in your relationship?”

“What are you talking about?” Kurt slowly asked before realizing what Dr. Miller was intimating. “I have put up with this counseling, but I am done. I’m recovered from my traumas and am trying to move on with my life, thank you very much.”

“Avoidance is a common tactic in abusive relationships. Are you safe in your relationship, Kurt? I can have Blaine step out for you to freely answer my question. This office is soundproofed. You are safe here and the school will protect you from him.”

“How dare you!” Blaine shouted, jumping to his feet.

“If Blaine steps out, I will follow him.” Kurt’s face twisted hard at the idea that Blaine would hurt him.

“Kurt, we want to be sure that you are not having an extreme reaction to the second attack by Mr. Karofsky.” Dr. Miller backpedaled, desperately trying to save this session. “It is something that we need to explore in an in-depth manner for your health and safety.”

“What?”

“I understand that Blaine represents safety and security to a young frail human, such as yourself and if you are being pressured into a relationship, we want to help you. You can’t do this to yourself. You deserve more than that, Kurt. You don’t have to settle for Blaine Anderson. There are plenty of humans out there that would love to be your partner.”

“Who is the ‘we’ that wants to protect me?” Kurt questioned. It wasn’t like he’d met any gay humans in Lima.

“Well, of course, myself, the school, and the Council.”

“Oh really?” Blaine asked with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t think the Council feels that way.”

“Mr. Anderson, this session is about the relationship you and Kurt are planning on pursuing and whether or not it is appropriate, which it clearly is not based on your possessive reactions. You must remember that Kurt is not a plaything for you to use and toss away.”

“A plaything to use and toss away?” Blaine said incredulously. “He is my Chosen One and someday will be my mate. Our relationship and how we pursue it is, quite frankly, none of your business. It is solely between Kurt, me, our families, and, because of my status, the Council that my father is head of. Your opinion means nothing.”

“It counts a great deal, Blaine. We are trying to help Kurt and you are thwarting me at every chance and that is cause for concern.” Dr. Miller continued on, as if he wasn’t letting Blaine’s words seep into his little brain. “I would hate to go to the school and inform them that I believe this relationship to be inappropriate and that the Kurt should be removed from Dalton for his safety.”

“We are done and I am taking Kurt back to our room and I don’t care what you think.” Blaine held out his hand to Kurt and Kurt grabbed it, allowing Blaine to lead them out of the office and back to their room where they spent the majority of the afternoon kissing and cuddling.

The boys hoped that would be the end of the situation. Unfortunately, they were wrong. The next day when Kurt was in Physics, a class he had with only Nick, he was again summoned to see Dr. Miller, this time alone.

“I am glad that you decided to come today, Kurt.” Dr. Miller said.

“I am only here because the school is requiring me to come and you told Headmaster Schaffer that you believed I needed to be here.” Kurt was bitter that he was being forced here by the school. He was uncomfortable with the doctor after the joint therapy session with Blaine and he was not happy to be here, having to endure this one by himself.

“Kurt, I have serious concerns about you.”

“Like what?”

“This relationship with the prince seems to have happened so fast. Is he pressuring you or giving you advantages that you would not normally have?”

“Advantages?” Kurt was confused

“There are a few rumors that his highness is gifting you things. Things that are quite expensive that wouldn’t be accessible to someone with Lima ties. There is cause for concern if he is buying your affections and you are being forced into an unsafe relationship.”

“Sir, not that it is really your concern, but boyfriends often buy gifts for their significant others, and he is certainly not using the presents to buy my affections.” Kurt loved that Blaine gifted him little things. It was nice to know that someone loved him so much and he refused to let this horrid little man turn that into something tawdry.

“Is this relationship any different than your relationship with Mr. Karofsky?” Dr. Miller asked, leaning forward in his stiff desk chair.

Kurt stiffened before he looked at the doctor in the eye and responded. “There was no relationship with him. He attacked me twice.”

“It seems that you’re in denial.” 

“What?” Kurt was holding back and working hard to not have a mental breakdown in front of the doctor who was already doubting him.

“In reading Mr. Karofsky’s statements of these attacks…he was very adamant that everything was consensual. Now, that can be open to interpretation, of course, but with two different attacks, it begs asking such a question.”

“There is no way in hell that anything that monster did was consensual.” Kurt was wringing his hands to keep himself calm.

“Are you sure? Is it possible that you just blocked it out when it all progressed too far too fast and there was no way to get yourself out of the situations? And now you find yourself in a relationship with Blaine. We are seeing parallels in these relationships.”

“How dare you make comparisons?” Kurt shouted. 

Dr. Miller simply shrugged. “Kurt, it is not good for you to pursue relationships with any gentlemen right now. I think it would be best if you refrained from dating for the foreseeable future or at least until you can be true to yourself.” 

“I see. So you wish me to end my relationship with Blaine, even though it is making me happy?” Kurt asked in a last ditch effort.

“I don’t think you need to be thinking about being happy right now, Kurt. Our goal is to get you healthy. Relationships can come later, much later. I believe I should talk to the headmaster about changing your rooming situation. You and Blaine should not be sharing a room because it is not healthy for either one of you at this point in time. I don’t want to see you damage yourself in any other ways, Kurt. This is for the best. I do hope you understand. Perhaps we should see about scheduling a more intense schedule of therapy. The Westerville Hospital has an excellent mental health facility and they can provide what you need.”

“Are you out of your mind?” He exploded, jumping out of the uncomfortable chair.

“Kurt, I am sure that your family will appreciate how invested the school is in making sure you are okay. That starts with the first step here in admitting that you have a problem.”

“I am not sick and how can you say those things?” Kurt was confused by Dr. Miller’s stance.

“Kurt, you are sick and another attack is certainly the proof that we need to take a step back and reassess where you are. I would dare say you fall under the category where we are worried, Mr. Hummel. I am beginning to worry about your health and safety and perhaps an involuntary stay would be the best way to approach this situation. You are far too unstable to stay at Dalton or return to Lima. This is for the best.”

“We’re done!” Kurt practically ran out of the room. He needed to get to the safety of Blaine’s arms. He knew that Blaine wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him.

Kurt stumbled out of the office, sobbing hysterically and not watching where was going when he ran into a very solid body.

“Kurt, what’s wrong?” Nathaniel Anderson was immediately on edge. His son’s Chosen One was a mess and there had better be a damn good explanation. Looking up into the face that was so similar to Blaine’s was more than Kurt could take and it all came pouring out.

“Dr. Miller made me come in today for a session and he grilled me about every guy I’ve ever talked to. He accused me of having a relationship with Karofsky. He wants to have me committed. He thinks I am sick and crazy because I am dating Blaine.” Kurt was shaking and Nathaniel wrapped the young man into a firm hug

“Oh, really? Come with me, child. I guarantee no one is having you committed.” Nathaniel gently guided the boy back to the office. “Dr. Miller, are you busy?”

“Your Majesty… I was just getting ready to call security to find him, thank you for bringing him back…Mr. Hummel, have you come to your senses and returned in a better mood?”

“I understand that you had a session with my son’s intended today and it was not pleasant.” Nathaniel was never one for conversation when someone was being bullied. There was a reason that Dalton had a zero tolerance policy.

“Your son’s intended?” Dr. Miller stared at him with disbelief. There was no way that Nathaniel Anderson was here in Kurt Hummel’s corner. Things weren’t done this way in their community.

“Kurt and Blaine are in a serious relationship and I am most displeased by what has happened here today.”

Fear and worry passed fleetingly over the other man’s face, but he schooled his features and coolly asked. “Displeased by what? Kurt was here for a session.”

“I am displeased to see someone that I consider a family member leaving your office in this state. Explain…now.” Nathaniel Anderson ordered coldly.

“Kurt is just distraught. It does happen in therapy when the emotions come to the surface and they overwhelm the patient. I have seen this before and he will be just fine in a few hours or in a day or so. This is a routine occurrence in my profession and certainly nothing to get upset about.” Dr. Miller shrugged because it was a plausible explanation for the boy’s upset. “Perhaps Kurt needs more help than we can provide him with here. There are other options we can explore, though, and I am most willing to help this disturbed individual.”

“Kurt explained that you threatened to have him committed.” Nathaniel worked very hard to keep the snarl out of his voice.

“This is simply an example of his unstable behavior and highlights the need to have him admitted to a facility that can provide for him more adequately than we can here.”

“You record sessions, correct?” Nathaniel wasn’t buying that explanation for Kurt’s obvious terror.

“Of course, it is standard procedure in the field and Dr. Coles wanted it done so he can understand what he missed out on while he’s on sabbatical.” Dr. Miller answered.

“I want to hear it so I can help Kurt in whatever way is best for him.” Nathaniel said. 

“It wouldn’t be appropriate or ethical. There are doctor-patient laws to consider. I cannot in good conscience allow you to listen to that session since you are not related to Kurt.”

“I have no problem with him hearing the session. Since I am the patient and giving my permission, doesn’t that supersede any laws?” Kurt quietly said, grateful that Blaine’s father was so supportive of him.

“Why yes Kurt, it does,” Nathaniel agreed. “The tapes doctor… now!”

Nathaniel Anderson was furious as he listened to the tape and the horrible things the doctor had all but attacked Kurt with. He could feel the fear and tension coming off of Kurt. “As of today, Kurt will no longer be having any sessions with you, nor will you see any student in this school. I will be talking to the board of governors of Dalton to have you removed and your licensed revoked. I suggest you vacate the campus immediately.”

“Oh, please. He is emotionally unstable and a human. Do you honestly want someone as damaged as him becoming your son someday? Wouldn’t sending him away and keeping him away from the prince be best in this situation? You can’t honestly tell me that you condone your son’s relationship with this….human,” Dr. Miller hissed. “This is the appropriate way to handle things. This is how it would be done in New York.” 

“We are not in New York, Dr. Miller.” Nathaniel hissed. “This is not how we do things in Ohio.”

“That’s why you’re treating me this way, isn’t it? You don’t think I’m good enough for Blaine, do you?” Kurt looked at the man with sad eyes.

“Blaine is going to be our leader someday, he needs someone who is strong and you sadly don’t fit that requirement and never will.” Dr. Miller coldly intoned.

“That is quite enough from you, Dr. Miller. I fully approve of my son’s choice and it is not your concern any longer. I believe I told you to leave. And I think you should do that as fast as your speed allows. I would hate to have to come back here and remove you myself.” Nathaniel Anderson growled, letting his eyes turn red as he stared at the man.

“You cannot be serious about taking a human’s word over my professional judgment.” Dr. Miller stuttered, in shock that he was being kicked out.

“Stop before you dig yourself a deeper grave.” Nathaniel’s deep voice rumbled in the room, his eyes returning to their normal color. “Kurt is not just a mere human. He will be part of our family one day and he will be treated with respect.”

“I was invited here, you just can’t throw me out.” Dr. Miller stuttered. 

“I can and I will.” Nathaniel glared. “You have one hour. Come along Kurt.”

Nathaniel regally swept out of the office with Kurt following in his wake. 

“Pompous conservative windbag. I’ve been fighting attitudes like his since I took over for my grandfather,” Nathaniel muttered as soon as they left the office. “Are you alright Kurt?”

“Yes, thank you.” Kurt said, truly grateful for Nathaniel’s presence.

“I’m glad I was here to help. So, how is my son? Is he treating you well?” Nathaniel asked, trying to get Kurt’s mind off the horrible afternoon.

“Blaine has been wonderful.” Kurt gushed with a smile.

“You make him happy Kurt. Blaine hasn’t had it easy. His mother and brother were killed by rogue vampires who had been kicked out of the clan for abhorrent behavior. I was left alone with Blaine and as much as I tried to do the right thing, it wasn’t always enough.”

“I’m sure you did the best you could sir. Blaine loves you. He talks about you a lot,” Kurt responded. Nathaniel smiled.

“I hope so. I want you to know, we are going to come down hard on Karofsky. We, as a clan and community, have worked so hard to maintain a level of expected behavior. When one steps out of line, it reflects badly on all of us and we aren’t like that.”

“I have to admit that I have never looked at it like that before.” Kurt answered.

“Yes,well, now is the time to start doing so child. You are soon to be one of us you know,” Nathaniel smiled. Kurt shook his head.

“I still can’t believe this is happening. I’m not sure how I got so lucky to find Blaine,” Kurt blushingly admitted.

“He loves you. You’re good for him, Kurt. As I said, you make him happy and that’s all I want for my son. And we have arrived at your room. I hope you will talk to Blaine about what happened today. He needs to know, Kurt. As much as you don’t want to tell him, please do… for both of your sakes.”

“I will sir. Blaine and I don’t keep secrets from each other,” Kurt answered.

“I’m glad to hear that Kurt. I will take my leave now,” Nathaniel said inclining his head.

“Good bye sir, and thank you again,” Kurt said before unlocking his door and entering the room. By the time Blaine returned from class, Kurt had changed into his most comfortable clothes and buried himself under a pile of blankets in his bed. 

“What’s wrong?” Blaine asked, immediately knowing that all was not well with Kurt.

“Can you just hold me, please?” Kurt’s voice was shaking. Wordlessly Blaine went to him wrapping him in his arms and holding him until the shaking stopped.

“Are you ready to tell me what happened?” he asked

“Your dad was here today.”

“Did my father make you this upset?” Blaine snarled.

“No, he helped me today, Blaine. I had to meet with Dr. Miller and it was bad. I ran out of the session and into your father. He got rid of Dr. Miller today.”

“What happened with Dr. Miller, Kurt?” Blaine’s voice took on a hard edge.

“He grilled me about every guy I’ve ever been friends with. He said I was unstable and should be committed.” Kurt whispered low, but Blaine’s excellent hearing heard every spoken word and even the words that hadn’t been spoken. He tightened his hold on Kurt substantially; wanting his boyfriend to feel safe within his arms.

“Oh, honey. Why didn’t you call me?” Blaine asked, keeping Kurt as close to him as he could.

Kurt loved the safe feeling he got from being in Blaine’s arms. “Your dad was here and helped. He made sure I was safe and walked me back to our room. He even stationed guards here until Dr. Miller was gone from the campus. He’s pretty great, Blaine.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.” Blaine was pleased his father and Kurt had somewhat bonded, even if it was over such a difficult situation. He continued to hold Kurt, talking over inconsequential things until the exhausted boy drifted off to sleep. Blaine held him occasionally brushing the hair off of his forehead and watching over him as he slept. He was afraid that Kurt would have nightmares that night from the events he’d experienced during the day. It was his duty to protect and keep Kurt safe now, a duty he was more than happy to perform.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

“When a human and a vampire mate, the human is immediately accorded all the rights, privileges, and protections afforded any other member of the clan for they are gaining more than just eternal love and life, they are gaining an inherently close-knit and protective family.”

-an excerpt from “The Vampire: Mythos and Truth” by Dr. Marvin J. Coles, PhD

 

“Are you excited about going to New York for Nationals?” Burt asked at dinner that Friday, trying to make small talk because God knew Finn and Carole weren’t making any effort.

“New York is going to be so much fun, Dad.” Kurt gushed happily. “Nick and Jeff promised to take me to their favorite stores in the city and expose me to quality fashion. New York fashion district, Dad! It’s like a dream come true!”

“A dream my credit card will never recover from.” Burt jokingly remarked. “Just remember that you have a thousand dollar limit. I know you’re going to want everything, but try to use your common sense Kurt.”

“I know.” Kurt acknowledged. “I am an excellent shopper. Just wait until you see the fabulous pieces I come home with.”

“Wait a minute, why the hell does he just get money to spend?” Finn snorted. “It’s like pulling teeth to get money for me to take Quinn out for dinner.”

“You go on dates, you pay. Special occasions, I pay. This is a special occasion. I’m giving Kurt money to spend and it’s not open for discussion,” Burt said impatiently. He didn’t want to fight with his step-son, but he also didn’t think it was Carole or Finn’s business to know Kurt had an inheritance account from his mother’s grandparents with almost a hundred thousand dollars in it. While most of it was earmarked for Kurt’s college, he wanted his son to be able to have a good time in the city with his friends and a thousand dollars wouldn’t put a dent in the account. If doing that made Finn think he was being treated unfairly, so be it. Burt would deal with the consequences. It wasn’t like he and Carole were getting along anyway.

“Honey, I think Finn has a point. We just can’t give Kurt money to go off to New York and do as he pleases.” Carole chimed in…there was no way that her step-son deserved money to spend in New York when he didn’t deserve to even go. “I mean, we have to pay for the hotel room already along with food and plane tickets. He should just be grateful that he gets to even gets to go. I hardly think spending money is a necessity.”

Kurt smiled as condescendingly as he could at his step-mother. There was no way he was going to let her bully his father into taking back the offer of spending money. “Oh, there’s no cost for the hotel. Blaine’s father has some connections at the Plaza and everyone’s rooms were comped since Dalton was so proud of their students for making it to Nationals. The school wanted us to know how much they appreciated our dedication and effort.” 

“Of course he does.” Finn snorted. “Blaine’s daddy can just buy everything. How much did he pay to get you in his son’s bed Kurt or were you free?”

“You take that back Finn Hudson! What Blaine and I have is special and I will not let you ruin it with your sick comments!” Kurt shouted throwing his fork down on his plate and standing up, glaring at his step-brother.

“Special? Is that what you call the way you’re whoring yourself out because Blaine has money and power. You think you’re so special Kurt… so superior. Well you are nothing but a cheap whore.” Finn was seething with anger as he spoke.

“I’m the whore Finn?” Kurt screeched. “Which girl are you with this week? Rachel? Quinn? Santana? Some gullible new girl? You’re the McKinley door knob Finn, everyone has had a turn. At least when I make a commitment to someone, I stick with it.”

“At least Quinn and Rachel aren’t going to kill me one day when I’m not useful,” Finn retorted.

“Enough!” Burt thundered.

“You’re damn right it’s enough!” Kurt growled. “I will not sit in this house any longer and listen to you spout your jealous delusions about the man I love.”

Kurt stormed upstairs leaving a shocked silence in his wake. Burt waited until he heard his son’s bedroom door shut before turning to look at his wife and step-son. “You two are ridiculous. You need to grow up and quit blaming Kurt for everything. He is happy and in love and I won’t let either of the two of you destroy this for him. And don’t you ever call my son a whore again, Finn.”

Carole was furious. “You know, Burt, I just wish Kurt would disappear from our lives so we could be get back to normal. You’re so worried about Kurt being happy that you’ve forgotten your wife and step-son want to be happy too.”

“I’m starting to think that maybe both me and my kid should just disappear from your lives Carole,” With a disgusted look, Burt threw down his napkin and followed his son from the room.

****

“I’m sorry Dad, you know I hate causing family problems, but I just can’t do this anymore.” Kurt said not looking up from his packing, when his father walked into his room.

“Kurt, Carole and Finn are the ones with the problem and they have to work it out for themselves. Besides, you shouldn’t be worrying about that stuff. You should be thinking about the good time you’re going to have in New York with your friends.” Burt replied. “This will all blow over. You just worry about enjoying New York.”

“I absolutely can’t wait. I want to see everything,” Kurt said dreamily.

“Just make sure that you’re careful and stay with your group while you’re seeing everything. New York is a dangerous place.” Burt cautioned.

“Somehow, I don’t think Blaine or the Warblers are going to let me out of their sight.” Kurt reminded his father. “They take overprotective to whole new levels.”

“Good. I knew I liked those kids.” Burt joked.

“Dad!”

“I’m kidding Kurt… kidding.” Burt chuckled, handing Kurt the credit card and grabbing his bag to carry it to the car for him.

*****

Dalton Warbler Room…

“Okay, I have our daily itinerary planned for each day and we will follow the plan. There will be no deviations or there will be hell to pay. Are we clear, Jeffery?” Wes declared as he sent Jeff a stern look.

“Why am I the one that always gets singled out in these speeches?” Jeff pouted.

“Maybe because you are the one who we had to rescue from the lion enclosure when we went to the National Zoo freshman year? Or who managed to get himself locked in the Museum of Science and Industry sophomore year? Or…” Blaine helpfully pointed out.

“Alright…alright…I get it,” Jeff muttered. “Sheesh a few minor incidents and a guy gets a bad rep.”

“Moving on,” Wes declared. “Nick?”

“What?” Nick returned the look evenly.

“It is in New York, you know.” Wes carefully said.

“I know that, Wesley.” Nick snarled back.

“We can forfeit. We don’t have to go to New York this year.” Wes gently said. “No one would be upset, Nicholas.”

“We’ve already had this discussion, guys. I am fine. I need to face it head on and not avoid this.” Nick refused to back out of a competition or let his friends do the same. It wouldn’t be fair to them and he was tired of putting his life on hold. “It’s time for me to face the city again and with you behind me, I know I can.”

“We’ll be with you every step of the way Nick,” Jeff promised, taking the other boy’s hand. Wes and Blaine exchanged a fond eye roll wondering if and when those two would ever get their acts together.

“Now, then, that being the case, let’s get back to our schedule. These plans were created to maximize our time in the city, so there will be no deviations.” Wesley firmly stated, looking at Jeff.

“All right, Wesley.” Jeff rolled his eyes and snorted. “Although if you keep this up, I might take it as a challenge. Think you can stop me from deviating, Wesley?”

“We don’t have to take you, Jeffery. Please remember that you can be left behind.” Wes glared at the other boy.

“You need me. You need all of us.” Jeff taunted.

“Speaking of which, is Kurt going to be able to travel with us?” Nick asked. “If not, you need to think about changing the duet to a solo.”

“Why wouldn’t Kurt be going with us?” Jeff asked, confused. “He is one of us, you know.”

“Of course he’s one of us, but he’s also still recovering from what happened. We shouldn’t pressure him to do this if he’s not fully healed.” Nick reminded them. He didn’t think they needed to be pushing Kurt.

“It’s not a problem. I’ve got it covered.” Blaine confidently said with a smile.

“And how do you have it covered, Blaine?” Wes asked with a raised eyebrow.

“My father and the Council have graciously allowed us to use their private plane for transportation and we will be staying in the Plaza Hotel. You guys have rooms while Kurt and I will be sharing my father’s penthouse.”

“Not fair!” Jeff shouted.

“Well, when your daddy owns a penthouse, Jeff, you can stay there.” Blaine teased. “Besides, you all have suites and remember that the Plaza has a 24/7 blood bank concierge that brings you whatever you ‘need’ right to your room with no waiting.”

“Oh, in that case, I suppose the Plaza is acceptable.” Jeff grinned.

“Have you talked to Kurt’s dad?” Nick asked. “He might not want Kurt traveling.”

“I think Mr. Hummel wants Kurt to be happy and if performing is what makes him happy, he’ll let Kurt go.” Blaine said.

“Why don’t you try asking me what I want?” Kurt stood in the doorway with an amused smirk on his face.

Blaine rushed to his side, sweeping him into his arms and kissing him gently. “Kurt! What are you doing here? I thought you were spending the weekend with your family so you could rest? And where’s your escort?”

“Blaine, take a breath. My escort is taking my bag to our room and I don’t think he’s necessary when all I’m doing is walking from the school’s entrance to the practice room. As for the restful weekend with my family, well… let’s just say it wasn’t terribly restful with Finn and Carole there and leave it at that.”

“What did they do?” Blaine demanded, eyes narrowing, as he moved to Kurt checking him over to make sure there weren’t any new injuries. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine Blaine. He was actually a lot more unkind to you then me this time,” Kurt said playfully shoved Blaine away. “And for the record, I will most certainly be going to New York to sing our duet. I have it all worked out with my dad and he’s even giving me a credit card to shop with. So don’t even think about replacing me, boys. Wild horses couldn’t stop me.”

“I am just worried about you overdoing it, Kurt.” Blaine said. “You’re important to me and I don’t want to set back your recovery by having you do something that is too taxing.”

“And I appreciate that, but you have to trust that I know what’s best for me.” Kurt said. “I promise that if I get tired or it’s too much, I will stop.”

“Okay.” Blaine gave in, chastely kissing Kurt before they launched into practice and the conversation was forgotten.

****

Over the next few days, Kurt packed for himself and Blaine and then unpacked and repacked again. Blaine was a very smart vampire and boyfriend and said nothing…letting Kurt do what he did best. 

“Blaine Anderson this will not do! Your wardrobe! Seriously , how many bowties can one person own and where are all your socks? We live in Ohio! It’s cold here. I am all for fashion, but socks are sort of a necessity,” Kurt said as he laid out clothes on Blaine’s bed.

“The cold really doesn’t bother me and socks make my feet itch. I don’t even wear shoes if I can help it,” Blaine pointed out wiggling his bare toes at Kurt. Kurt rolled his eyes.

“Well that settles it. We are going shopping Blaine. I have some things I need to pick up anyway,” Kurt said. “Get your shoes on, and here. Wear these.” Kurt handed Blaine a pair of socks which complemented the outfit the vampire was currently wearing. Blaine made a face.

“Can’t,” Blaine said. “Wes and I have that meeting with our Dads in about half an hour. In fact, I actually need to get going.” Kurt sighed as Blaine put his shoes on, sockless. 

“What am I going to do with you?”

“Kiss me?” Blaine suggested cheekily. Kurt rolled his eyes, pecking Blaine on the cheek. Blaine frowned. “That Kurt Hummel was not a kiss. This is a kiss.” Blaine pulled Kurt into his arms and captured his lips in a kiss that left the blue eyed boys heart racing. “I’ll be back as soon as I can love.” 

After he recovered, Kurt continued packing, getting more and more fed up with his boyfriend’s wardrobe, finally throwing his hands up in defeat.

“This is ridiculous. I’m going shopping,” he muttered, grabbing his jacket and car keys and heading to the Westerville Mall.

 

Once he got there, Kurt briskly made his way to a couple of his favorite stores smiling happily to himself as he picked out some things he thought that Blaine would like and would complement his coloring as well as update his style. He paid for the shirts, pants, and several pairs of socks with the credit card his father had given him.

“That will be $203.50,” the clerk told him, his eyes widening slightly at the name on the card. “Hummel? Any relation to the Chosen One of Prince Blaine?” 

“You could say that,” Kurt grinned impishly, signing his name with a flourish before grabbing his things and leaving. The clerk watched him go before pulling out his cellphone and holding a quickly whispered conversation.

Kurt hit a couple of other stores at the mall buying little odds and ends things he thought that he and Blaine might need for the trip before grabbing a pretzel and a coffee and heading for the his car. He pulled out his cellphone to check the time realizing he had several missed calls and texts when he suddenly found himself surrounded by a mass of people shoving microphones in his face and was nearly blinded by the bright flash of cameras. Confused and overwhelmed, Kurt tried to push through them, but the reporters jostled him, sending pain shooting through his still healing ribs. Kurt cried out, nearly falling as the paparazzi, either oblivious or uncaring of his discomfort, shouted questions at him.

“Mr. Hummel how did you and the Prince meet? Is it true that this is not your first relationship with a vampire? Is Prince Blaine responsible for those bruises Kurt?”

“No of course he isn’t,” Kurt snapped. “Please, I’d like to get to my car.”

The mob surrounding him was not willing to give in quite so easily, however. They shoved closer to him and he dropped his phone and heard his shirt tear as someone grabbed it. He felt himself begin to fall and knew this time he wouldn’t be able to stop it, when a strong pair of hands grabbed him and a familiar voice penetrated his panic.

“Back off. Mr. Hummel has no comment to any of your questions. Everything which is being made public regarding his betrothal to Prince Blaine was in the press release the royal family issued,” Puck said, sounding way more formal and intellectual than Kurt had ever heard him. Puck quickly ushered Kurt to his car putting him into the passenger seat. “Keys?” Woodenly, Kurt handed him the keys and realized that his hands were shaking.

Puck pulled out of the parking lot tires squealing. He hit the hands free device Kurt suddenly realized he was wearing.

“Hey, it’s me. I’ve got him. Oh, believe me I will. We’ll be there in five,” Puck said.

“Was that Blaine?” Kurt asked timidly.

“No, that was the king, Blaine is on his way to Lima looking for you,” Puck snapped.

“Oh…I… thank you,” he managed his voice sounding weak even to his own ears.

“Thank you? What the hell were you thinking Kurt?” Puck growled. “Do you have any idea the uproar you’ve caused by disappearing like that?”

“Disappearing? I just went shopping Puck.”

“Without your guard! And did you bother to tell anyone where you were going? Blaine is frantic.”

“This is all kind of new to me, Puck. I didn’t think about it.”

“You’d better start thinking about it, Kurt. Do you realize what could have happened if I hadn’t found you? It could have been someone a whole lot worse than a bunch of reporters. Have you forgotten our conversation in the hospital about Blaine’s family’s enemies?”

“I was just going to the mall.” Kurt defended himself.

“Kurt, like it or not, you are a public figure now and you have to think about these things.” Puck said. “From now on, you don’t go anywhere further than the bathroom without telling your head of security, which would be me.”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know!” Kurt whispered, eyes firmly on his lap.

“Save your excuses for Blaine.” Puck didn’t say another word as he raced down the highway back to Dalton. He whipped into the parking lot, pulling to a stop in front of the dorms.

Kurt was so upset that he was blinking rapidly to keep the tears from falling. Puck heard the first sniffle and looked over. Kurt hadn’t even realized they’d gotten back to the school and were parked. 

“Shit!” Puck said. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. Don’t cry. The prince is going to fucking kill me for making you cry. Dude, come on. Stop crying.”

Kurt heard the familiar squeal of Blaine’s tires as the car door was thrown open and Kurt was pulled into his future mate’s arms.

Blaine looked Kurt over from head to toe, noting his torn shirt and several scratches…as well as the tears running down his cheeks.

“What the hell happened? Where was he?” Blaine demanded of Puck, not loosening his hold on his Chosen One.

“He was at the mall of all places.” Puck said. “Somehow, the press got wind that he was there and showed up. When I found him, he was completely surrounded and pretty much being trampled.”

“We’ll be in our room for the rest of the night. No one gets in.” 

“Yes, your highness.” Puck nodded.

Blaine held out his hand and Puck dropped the keys into it, along with Kurt’s cellphone which he had apparently retrieved as well. Pocketing them, Blaine whisked Kurt to their room as Nick, Jeff, and Wes all tore frantically into the parking lot. He didn’t stop to talk to them, knowing Puck would fill them in.

Room…

Blaine didn’t say a word as he ushered Kurt into the room and locked the door. When he turned around, Kurt realized that Blaine’s eyes had taken on that reddish tint that he’d never seen directed at him.

“Would you care to tell me what was so important at the mall that couldn’t wait until I could go with you? Or why you didn’t at least take someone with you or tell them where you were going?”

“Blaine…”

“Get changed!” Blaine ordered. “We need to have a talk.”

“I didn’t know! I was just going to the mall. I’ve done it a million times. I didn’t realize it was a federal offense.” Kurt yelled. “And I don’t do orders, your royal highness.”

“Don’t you take that tone with me, Kurt Hummel!”

“That tone with you, Blaine? I’m not your servant. I’m your future mate and if you think I’m going to be subservient and bow and scrape to your every whim, you have another thing coming.” Kurt shouted loudly.

“Don’t shout at me, Kurt. I’m not the one who did something so foolish.”

“It’s the mall, Blaine. How the hell was I supposed to know the press was going to be there or that they’d even be interested in me?”

“You need to stop and think once in a while, Kurt, instead of just acting on impulse.” Blaine shouted back.

“Like I did when I agreed to be your mate?” Kurt snarled.

Blaine reacted as though he’d been slapped by the callous words. “Kurt….”

“Leave me alone. I’m tired. I’m sore. I want to go to bed.” Kurt softly said, tired of fighting with Blaine, the adrenaline of the fight wearing off.

Blaine took a deep, shuddering breath, running his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry, Kurt. I shouldn’t have talked to you like that, but I came back here and you were gone and no one knew where you were. It terrified me. I love you and I don’t ever want anything to happen to you. I couldn’t live without you.”

“I’m sorry too, Blaine. You’re right that I should have told someone where I was going and I probably should have taken a guard, but this is all new to me and I’m adjusting. I’m not always going to do the right thing.”

“So, we survived our first fight.” Blaine said, trying to lighten the mood. “I think this means we’re made for each other.”

“I don’t like fighting with you and I don’t want to again.” Kurt said, sitting down tiredly on the bed.

“You should get changed for bed, Kurt. You’ve had a hard night.” 

“Can you check my bandages in case they need to be changed?” Kurt asked. “Those reporters jostled me around quite a bit and my ribs really hurt.”

“And I’m yelling at you. I’m the worst boyfriend ever.” Blaine said. “Take your shirt off and let me see.”

Kurt slowly slipped the torn shirt off his still bruised body, tossing it on the floor, as Blaine slid closer, running his hands delicately over the bruised flesh. He couldn’t resist dropping a few chaste kisses on Kurt’s skin.

“Blaine…” Kurt’s voice trailed off as the kisses became more heated and his heartbeats sped up.

“Shh.” Blaine whispered as he and Kurt lay back on the bed.

Outside the door, Puck stood in front of the door with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“They’ve stopped yelling. Do you think that’s a good sign?” Wes asked.

“Well…either they’ve killed each other or....” Nick said.

“Bow chicka bow bow.” Jeff waggled his eyebrows, grinning.

All four boys heard the rapid heartbeat and soft moan emanating from the room.

“Well, I guess they’re still alive.” Jeff said. “Get some Anderson!”

“Shut up, Jeff.” Blaine hollered back as Puck shooed everyone away from the door.

****

The remaining preparations for the trip went remarkably well. Despite their friend’s worries, neither Kurt nor Nick seemed to show any reluctance to be heading to New York, until the night before they left.

Blaine jerked awake with the immediate and definite sense that something was not right. He quickly looked over to Kurt to see him sleeping peacefully. It was then that he heard Nick’s panicked screams and Jeff trying to soothe the other boy into calming down. With a quietly muttered oath he jumped out of bed and headed for the door. Kurt sat up roused by Blaine’s sudden movements. The two boys had begun sleeping together since Kurt returned to school. He’d had a few nightmares and Blaine’s presence seemed to keep them at bay. This was perhaps why Blaine was so easily awakened by the sound of Nick’s distress.

“What’s wrong?” Kurt asked sleepily.

Blaine tried to soothe Kurt back to sleep. “It’s just Nick.”

“What’s wrong with Nick?” Kurt asked, fully awake now.

“He’s having a nightmare. I knew New York wasn’t going to be good for him.” Blaine sighed, listening. Nick’s screams had stopped and he could hear the muffled sounds of him and Jeff talking. He relaxed and climbed back into bed snuggling back against Kurt.

“Do you think he’ll be all right?” Kurt was concerned for his friend.

“He has Jeff and he has us. He is going to be fine.” Blaine kissed Kurt’s forehead and tucked the blankets around them. “Go back to sleep.”

“Why are you guys so worried about him going to New York?” Kurt demanded.

“That’s where he was attacked Kurt,” Blaine said softly. Kurt’s eyes widened.

“Oh… oh I see. It’s my McKinley,” he murmured. Blaine immediately became concerned at the tone of Kurt’s voice.

“Kurt, are you ok?” Blaine asked, pulling his Chosen One more closely to him. Kurt nodded.

“I’m fine Blaine, just worried about Nick and very, very happy to be here with you,” he answered. Blaine kissed the top of his head.

“Go to sleep love, we leave early in the morning,” Blaine said. “Let Jeff worry about Nick right now.”

Kurt snuggled up to Blaine, nodding, but neither boy was really able to get back to sleep that night.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

“There is a power which set the princes of the Draculesti above and beyond all others of the vampire race. They hold an ability unique to those few which gives them lordship and dominion over the rest. It is the reason that their name is feared even amongst those who have no fear. For the Draculesti possess the Thrall.”

-An excerpt from “The Draculesti” by Evangeline Hughes-Anderson

 

Airport…

“Aren’t we supposed to be going that way to our gate?” Kurt asked as Blaine and Wes led the Warblers down a hallway that looked like it was for airport staff only. “Please don’t get us lost and make us miss our flight. You know I need New York like Tiffany’s needs the color blue.”

“Kurt, hush. Maybe that pretty TSA Agent will find me and frisk me.” Jeff said waggling his eyebrows and earning a chuckle from Nick, which was his goal.

“If Jeff can manage to control himself,” Blaine said with a mock glare at his friend. “I have a surprise for you, Kurt, and I promise that you will like it.”

“Okay…” Kurt trailed off as they passed through another door to a private lounge and a gate. “What in the world? I’ve never seen a gate look this nice before. Those are Italian leather seats over there with throw pillows and real rugs instead of boring carpet.”

“That’s because it belongs to Daddy Warbucks… or rather, Daddy Anderson.” Jeff helpfully supplied in answer to his question before plopping into a chair.

“Huh?” Kurt was confused.

“This is the Vampire Council’s private lounge and gate area. They are powerful figures in our community and they have a private gate and plane that is available to them any time they need to fly out. Vampires don’t exist just in Ohio, Kurt.” Blaine answered his confused boyfriend before leading them over to comfortable seats.

“So…we’re flying to New York in a private plane?” Kurt perked up at the idea of not having to squeeze his still healing body into an uncomfortable coach class seat in a tiny tin can plane.

“Yes.” Blaine smiled because he was happy that Kurt was happy now. 

“The seats will be comfortable and the drinks never ending.” A new voice interjected.

“What are you doing here, Puckerman?” Kurt was shocked to see the other vampire there.

“Where Anderson goes, I go.” Puck answered. “Since the two of you are a package deal now, you get me too.”

“Besides, I figured, since I’ve been reinstated as a full-fledged student at Dalton Academy as of,” Puck checked his watch. “Ten hours ago, I might as well reap the benefits and go to NYC.”

Pandemonium reigned at that point as the boys all joyfully welcomed Puck back into the fold. Kurt was thrilled to see his friend so happy although part of him was a little shocked at how well the McKinley school rebel meshed with the preppy, private school boys of Dalton. It sort of made him wonder if he even knew the real Noah Puckerman. The boys finally settled down flopping in chairs and recounting tales of Puck’s adventures in his previous time at Dalton.

Twenty minutes later, four figures came through the private door, dressed in red and navy uniforms.

“Your highness?”

“Yes?”

“We should be departing right on schedule today. Do you have any questions?”

“When can we board?” Jeff called out.

“Oh, I see Lord Sterling is joining us today as well.” The pilot and co-pilot rolled their eyes. “We will begin boarding just as soon as the requested food is loaded on board. It was an unusual request and will take a little longer than normal.”

“That is because my Chosen One will be traveling to the competition with us.” Blaine tugged Kurt to his side. “This is Kurt Hummel, gentleman. Kurt, these are our pilots for the flight.”

“Nice to meet you.” Kurt didn’t know what else to say.

“Oh, we weren’t aware that your intended was traveling with us. We were under the impression that Lord Sterling had brought ‘entertainment’ with him on the flight today, thus the need for food.”

“Not this time, boys.” Jeff smirked as he called out.

Getting on the plane was quite an interesting experience. Jeff ran all the way down the jet way and back because he knew he could and the plane wouldn’t leave without him. Puck, tired of waiting on him, finally picked the other boy up and threw him over his shoulder, carrying him on.

Kurt looked around, amazed by the interior of the plane. It was more like a game room with very comfy seats and a big screen TV than a plane. It was nothing he thought he’d get to experience in his lifetime.

“It’s not that impressive, Kurt.” Blaine said, amused at the way Kurt was marveling at all the little amenities the plane held.

“Speak for yourself, Blaine. My dad owns a garage…yours owns a plane.”

“Just sit down and get buckled in. One of the benefits of a private plane is getting to actually take off on time without having to wait for stragglers.” Blaine couldn’t help the smirk on his face as he looked at Wes.

“Jeff!” Wes hollered at the blonde who was once again running up and down the jet way. “This plane is leaving without you if you aren’t in here in 5…4…3…”

“Okay, okay. Ruin my fun.” Jeff complained, but the smirk was firmly on his face. “Gentlemen, the captain has turned on the no smoking sign and we are taxi-ing to the runway. All carry-ons must be stowed either in the overhead compartments or under the seat in front of you…”

He then proceeded to go through the entire safety demonstration with fun and vigor, sending Kurt flirty smiles and offering to help him buckle his seatbelt.

“I have it covered, Jeffery. If Kurt needs ‘any’ help, he’ll be coming to me.” Blaine growled, slapping Jeff’s hands off of Kurt’s knees.

“Why Blaine! I never knew you were into bondage. Kinky!” Jeff winked. “Need a third person to join?”

“Jeffery?” Kurt glared at the other boy.

Jeff turned and gave one of his trademark flirty smiles. “Yes, snookums?”

“Sit down and shut up.” Kurt ordered. “Or I will take my hand off of Blaine and I will not be responsible for his actions.”

“You guys never let me have any fun.” Jeff pouted.

“Look Jeff… video games,” Nick said pointing to the stack of discs near the television.

“Ohhh…” Jeff dove into the pile, looking to see if they had his favorite one. “Call of Duty! Sweet! Puck, come here and play. I will so kick your ass.”

“Maybe in your dreams Sterling,” Puck snorted grabbing a controller.

“Can’t you medicate him or something?” Kurt asked watching as Jeff ran around killing things on the game, laughing maniacally the whole time.

“He is.” Wes rolled his own eyes. “You should see him when he’s not on it.”

“No thank you.”

Blaine cleared his throat once the plane reached cruising altitude. “If I could have your attention please,” he said. The various groups of boys lounging around the plane stopped what they were doing almost immediately and looked at Blaine. “While I intend for us all to have fun in the city gentlemen, please keep in mind that New York is not Ohio. Neither Nick nor Kurt are to be left alone for any reason. If they are, there will be hell to pay and I will personally dole it out.”

“Excuse me? I am not a child nor do I need a babysitter.” Kurt glared hard at his boyfriend. ”Neither does Nick.”

“Porcelain, remember that conversation we had in the hospital and then again after the mall?” Puck said. Kurt glared at him.

“A little hard to forget that particular incident, still… I am capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need a babysitter,” Kurt muttered stubbornly.

“It’s not a matter of being able to take care of yourself, Kurt. We know what a strong, capable person you are. It is matter of safety. I don’t think that you understand just how dangerous it can be for you in New York,” Blaine realized they probably should have had this conversation at home, but time had seemed to run out before the trip between the planning and the packing and the preparations of their set list not to mention Kurt’s attack and all of the fallout from that. 

“Then explain it to me please.” Kurt replied in a sickly sweet tone, very obviously still upset. Blaine took a deep breath. 

“You know that my father and the rest of the Council have made a lot of changes for the better in our community, but in doing so, they ruffled a lot of feathers. Many of the purebloods feel like we are allowing ourselves to become too human, that we have lost what makes us vampires. New York is very far away from Ohio and it houses one of the largest bastions of ultra-conservative pure blood vampires.”

Nick decided since he had more personal experience that he should be the one to explain the structure of the New York communities. “Look Kurt, I’m not exactly thrilled with this either, but Blaine is right. New York can be a dangerous place for people like us. Pure bloods in New York turn their noses up at turned vampires and humans. Some of them still hunt humans, even though they know it is against the law. When they’re caught they are severely punished, but…They just don’t want anything bad to happen to us, Kurt, so expect someone to be with you every single moment of the day. Because, like it or not, as the human Chosen One of the Prince, you have a huge target on your back. Some of them will consider you an invaluable prize.”

The boys all saw Kurt go pale and heard his heat begin to race with fear. Blaine put a protective arm around him and Puck crouched in front of him looking him in the eyes.

“I won’t let them hurt you Kurt, not while there is breath in my body. I swear it on my honor as a Knight of the Draculesti, but I have to be there to protect you,” he said.

“You’ll be fine as long as you are with us. They won’t risk it, but if they can catch you alone…” Nick added.

“They will hunt me down and drain me dry.” Kurt rasped a slight tremor in his voice.

“I won’t let that happen, Kurt,” Blaine promised. “But as Puck said, I can’t protect you if you don’t let me.”

“Okay,” Kurt said taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders, visibly mustering his courage. “I can’t say that I like it, but I understand the necessity. I promise that I’ll stick with the group, however next time I’d like to know what I’m walking into. I want us to have an equal partnership, not one where I just blindly follow you around and do what you tell me to.”

“I’m sorry, Kurt. I promise I’ll try to not leave you in the dark and explain my reasons when I ask you to do something. I honestly just forget sometimes how little you know of our world.”

“It’s ok, Blaine. I guess we’re both just learning right now,” Kurt smiled.

“Thank you for understanding, love.” Blaine whispered. “I couldn’t take it if something happened to you or if all the baggage that comes with being my intended chased you away.”

“Not going to happen, Anderson. You’re stuck with me now,” Kurt said.

“And that makes me very, very lucky,” Blaine said capturing Kurt’s lips in a gentle kiss.

 

By the time they landed, Puck had soundly beat Jeff in multiple games of Call of Duty, Wes and Blaine had revised their set list several times, only to end up with it being exactly how they originally planned it, and Nick and Kurt had both worked themselves into a state of near panic at the thought of the hostile environment they’d be facing in New York. The airport was bustling with people. Thanks to the private plane, they managed to avoid the press, who they caught a glimpse of waiting in the public terminals. They weren’t, however, as lucky at avoiding the hostile glares of passersby. Kurt could feel their eyes boring into his back as he walked with Blaine and the boys.

“Hasn’t anyone told them that staring is just rude?” Kurt asked Nick.

“Ignore them, Kurt. It’s the only way to deal with those that look down upon us.” Nick said, as Blaine put a possessive hand on his back and guided him down the hallway. 

Straightening his shoulders, Kurt raised his head high, staring down his nose at the people glaring at him. 

“That’s it love” Blaine said with a proud smile. They quickly traversed the rest of the airport to the exit where Blaine steered Kurt into one of the waiting limos.

Kurt kept looking at everything around him in awe. Blaine had instructed the driver to take the longer route to their destination so Kurt could see the city of his dreams and Blaine had been delighted to be able to watch Kurt acting like an excited puppy at all of the sights. Kurt was in seventh heaven. He had completely forgotten to worry about the reaction of the city’s vampire community to his presence there. He was in New York… he had flown there in a private plane and was now riding in a limo to his hotel. It was a lot for a mechanic’s son from small town Ohio to take in. As the limo stopped and the driver got out and opened the door for them, Kurt’s eyes widened even more.

“Blaine! Blaine, we’re here! We are actually at the Plaza!” Kurt squealed.

“I am aware of that, love. This is where we always stay when we’re in the city,” Blaine chuckled because he enjoyed seeing Kurt’s face light up in happiness. He had decided it was a very good look on Kurt and he hoped he could put it there more often.

“This is seriously where we’re staying for the week?” Kurt questioned, amazed by the idea of getting to do something like this.

“Yes.” Blaine chuckled again as the boys walked toward the check-in desk. “Hello Stephanie. It’s good to see you again.” He greeted the woman behind the desk. Her face lit with recognition and she smiled solicitously at him.

“Welcome back Prince Blaine. As your father requested, you have the entire sixth floor of suites, as well as the penthouse where you usually stay. Please let us know if there’s anything you need or that can make your stay better.” She handed over the key cards and, after thanking the woman, Blaine passed them out.

Once they were in the elevator, Kurt looked at Blaine. “We have the penthouse?”

“My father arranged it for us and yes, it was his idea, not mine. He wanted you to feel safe and comfortable in the city for the first time. My father was concerned that you were still recovering from the attack. This floor is secured and only people we approve can access it by elevator. When I have to travel without him, I usually just get a suite like the guys, so this is all for you.”

“Make sure you thank him for me.” Kurt smiled, touched that Blaine’s father was worried about making him feel safe in the city. 

“You guys can come up later and hang out.” Blaine said when everyone but the two of them and Puck got off the elevator at their floor. Blaine slid the keycard for the penthouse floor and up the elevator they went. The elevator door slid open to reveal a short hallway with two doors. 

“I’ll be next door. If you two need anything I have my cell. If you go anywhere, you will call me to come with you,” Puck said sternly before opening the door on the right. “Enjoy the penthouse Porcelain,” he added with a wink shutting the door behind him.

Blaine led Kurt to the door on the left, opening it with the same keycard which operated the elevator. He threw the door wide ushering Kurt inside.

The plane and the limo, he quickly decided, were nothing compared to this. Kurt stepped into the main room, his breath catching. The decor was amazing, stunning even and clearly exceptionally expensive, but it couldn’t hold a candle to the huge floor to ceiling windows along one wall which showcased a breathtaking view of the city which was laid out before them.

“Oh my God Blaine!” Kurt was quite literally bouncing in excitement. Blaine smiled fondly at his future mate, wrapping his arms around him from behind, kissing him on the neck, and inhaling his scent.

“Welcome to New York my love. Why don’t you come see the gift my father sent you,” Blaine smiled, nodding towards the basket sitting on the dining room table. Nathaniel clearly had a soft spot for the boy that had stolen his son’s heart. Kurt happily walked over to peer into the basket, finding various expensive snacks for him as well as tickets for an actual Broadway show. 

“Oh my GaGa!!! Blaine, your father got us box seats to see Wicked!” Kurt squealed.

“I know,” Blaine grinned as he popped open a bottle of blood, taking a long swig. “He asked me which one I thought you’d like.”

“Blaine, tickets to see a Broadway play are not exactly your run of the mill welcome gift.” Kurt reminded his boyfriend.

“Kurt, my dad loves you and I told him you loved the play.” Blaine answered plainly. “He knows you’ve never been out of Lima, other than for school, and how New York was a dream come true for you.”

“This is too much, Blaine.” Kurt wasn’t sure he could accept the expensive tickets.

“It is not too much for the one who is going to be with me forever and makes me as happy as you do.” Blaine answered.

“I suppose it would be a shame to let the tickets go to waste.” Kurt said. 

“Yes, it would.” Blaine smirked.

“And I wouldn’t want to be rude to your father,” Kurt said biting his lip.

“Of course not,” Blaine agreed. Kurt grinned. He’d wanted to see the play on Broadway for a very long time and it would be amazing.

“Are you hungry? There’s the stuff in the basket and mini-fridge or we can get you something more substantial from room service,” Blaine said.

“So, is there really 24/7 room service here?” Kurt asked, perusing the menu.

“Yes, there is.” Blaine answered.

“I probably should order something light for lunch.” Kurt passingly said. “I don’t want to spend my entire trip budget on food, even though I probably could.”

“Order anything you want off the menu, Kurt. This week, the food is on the Warblers’ account.”

“Blaine, I can’t take money out of that account. It wouldn’t be right.” Kurt didn’t like the idea of taking money for food when he would be the only one doing so, unless Nick or Jeff, who occasionally ate human food, joined him.

“Fine, then I’ll pay for it,” Blaine shrugged.

“I can’t let you do that,” Kurt protested.

“Why not?” Blaine questioned, frowning.

“I just…” Kurt bit his lip looking down. Blaine took his hand leading him over to the plush couch. “It’s not right Blaine. I can pay for myself. I’m not some kept pet.”

“Kept pet?” Blaine said frowning. “Kurt, where is this coming from? I haven’t given you the impression that that is how I think of you is it? Because it’s not you know. I love you, and I like buying things which make you happy, but I don’t expect anything in return.”

“I know you don’t… I shouldn’t have said that I just… Finn said something and then those reporters the other day… and this is all just a little overwhelming,” Kurt said.

“Finn and the reporters can go jump off of a cliff,” Blaine growled. Kurt looked down biting his lip. Blaine sighed his gaze softening as he lifted Kurt’s chin to look in his eyes.  
“Baby look at me, we’re going to be mates, and my family has had almost a thousand years to become disgustingly wealthy. We have more money than we know what to do with. As my Chosen One and soon to be mate, so do you. I’m not buying you things with my money. I’m buying it with our money. In fact, as soon as I can arrange it, I’m getting your name added to my accounts and getting you your own card.”

“You don’t have to that Blaine,” Kurt said.

“I know, but I’m going to. Congratulations Kurt. You’re filthy rich. Now relax and enjoy.”

“You are impossible do you know that?” Kurt said, a smile playing about his mouth.

“So three different nannies told me as a child. Now, what are you ordering? I’ve heard from Nick that they have a very tasty grilled chicken salad here,” Blaine said impishly.

Kurt rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s antics and went back to looking at the menu while Blaine unpacked for both of them, using his vampire speed. He was back at Kurt’s side by the time he finished ordering his room service.

“So what did we decide on?” Blaine asked.

“I decided on the salad you talked about,” Kurt responded wincing as he stretched to put the menu away. Blaine saw the motion and frowned.

“Are you ok?”

“Just a little stiff and sore from the plane ride I think,” Kurt answered.

“As soon as you’ve eaten, I have the solution for that,” Blaine responded.

“Oh?” Kurt asked raising an eyebrow. Blaine nodded.

“Yep. As soon as you’re done eating, meet me upstairs… and wear the swimsuit I told you to bring,” Blaine said, dropping a quick kiss on Kurt’s lips and disappearing up the stairs which Kurt had yet to explore. 

Kurt’s lunch arrived a short time later. As soon as he finished it, he went to his room, changed into his suit, and made his way up the stairs where he found a large outdoor space, complete with a lap pool and hot tub which was currently occupied by Blaine.

“Care to join me Mr. Hummel?” Blaine inquired. Kurt stripped off his shirt sliding into the warm scented water with Blaine who pulled Kurt to him, setting him between his legs and starting to rub his shoulders with firm, but gentle hands.

“Mmmm…Blaine,” he moaned. “That feels amazing.”

“I know the air temperature is still a little chilly for you so I turned up the heat on the tub. Not too hot is it?” Blaine asked, his voice husky and his breath on Kurt’s ear sending shivers of pleasure through him.

“Uh-uh,” Kurt responded as Blaine nuzzled his neck placing soft kisses along it. Instinctively, Kurt turned his head to the side allowing Blaine better access. 

“Kurt,” the vampire groaned as he felt his fangs lengthen at the site of the pale expanse of his mate’s skin barred before him. 

He could see the arteries pulsing just beneath the surface and it took every ounce of his strength to resist the urge to bite and get a taste of the sweetness that was Kurt. He bent down licking and sucking lightly, allowing his teeth to scrape the surface of his mate’s neck. The boy began to make little purring whimpers which absolutely drove Blaine insane with the need to sink his fangs deeply into the flesh beneath his lips.

“Kurt, baby, you need to stop making noises like that or I will not be responsible for my actions,” Blaine rasped out. “You have no idea how hard it is for me to resist you right now. I know you’ll taste amazing love. Sweet and spicy…and God if we don’t stop I’m not sure if I’ll be able to.”

“Who said I wanted you too?” Kurt whispered huskily turning and straddling Blaine’s lap before kissing him deeply. Blaine nipped at Kurt’s lips just hard enough to draw blood and groaned at the taste. He ran his hands down to Kurt’s hips pulling them flush against his and groaned again, Kurt’s cries joining his. They continued to nip and suck and explore each other until the water started to turn cold and they both knew that if they didn’t stop they would go much further than either of them were ready for. They exited the hot tub Blaine tenderly wrapping Kurt in a soft robe and kissing him gently one more time before they made their way back down the stairs.

“I suppose we should get dressed and go meet the others,” Blaine said reluctantly.

“Mmhmm,” Kurt agreed. “Jeff said something about going clubbing tonight.”

“Clubbing? No. Absolutely not,” Blaine answered quickly and firmly.

“Blaine…” Kurt whined.

“It’s too dangerous. Do you really think I’m going to let you go clubbing in New York? Especially the clubs Jeff is likely to take you to,” Blaine looked at him with narrowed eyes, daring Kurt to start arguing with him. Kurt arched an eyebrow.

“Let me Blaine? It’s my first night in New York. I am going out with the rest of the Warblers. I’d really like you to come with me. I want to dance with my sexy, amazing, boyfriend, but I am going whether you come or not.”

“Alright… fine,” Blaine sighed. “I’ll let Puck know, but if there is even a hint of trouble we’re leaving, and you stay by my side all night. Deal?”

“Yes,” Kurt grinned. “Thank you Blaine. We’re going out in New York! Oh my God! I need to figure out what to wear.” Kurt bounced off to his room while Blaine pulled out his phone to call Puck, a feeling of foreboding building in his chest.

 

Blaine had taken one look at Kurt when he had declared himself ready to go and immediately wished that they were staying in. Kurt looked like hot sex and Blaine’s mouth watered at the sight of him. Kurt and Blaine made their way downstairs to the lobby where all the Warblers were waiting on them.

“Hey that’s the outfit I bought you for Christmas! Damn I’m good. You look delectable, Kurt.” Jeff gave Kurt a slow glance; taking in the black practically painted on jeans, the scarlet V-neck top, and the colorful scarf around his neck. “Can I have a little nibble?”

Blaine smacked Jeff in the back of the head, practically snarling. “Mine. He’s taken, Jeffery. You’d do well to remember that.”

“You have anger issues Anderson. Do you know that? I was just complimenting him, Blaine. Your boy looks hot.” Jeff rolled his eyes at Blaine’s possessive streak lately.

“Believe me I am very, very aware of that,” Blaine growled. 

“Apparently sexual frustration makes Blaine grumpy,” Jeff stage whispered to Nick. Puck and Wes both tried and failed to choke back their laughter, earning a glare from Blaine.

“Traitors,” he muttered.

“Maybe I should change.” Kurt told Nick. “I don’t want to draw too much attention.”

Blaine whipped his head around and stared at Kurt. “Don’t you dare change, Kurt. You look amazing. Lord Sterling just needs to learn some boundaries.”

“Okay.”

“It’s okay, Kurt. I’ve got your back man. Remember?” Puck added. “Alright gentlemen rules for the evening… Kurt and Nick are to be kept in the center of the group at all times. If somehow you do manage to get separated, find the most public, well-lit area you can and text me or Blaine. Are we clear?”

“Yes sir,” Kurt said, offering Puck a mock salute.

 

The group made their way out of the hotel and back into the limos in which they’d arrived. The ride passed quickly with the boys laughing and joking and teasing Blaine rather mercilessly. Kurt loved seeing the easy camaraderie the boys had together, as well as the new dynamic Puck added. Kurt was seeing a whole new side to the rebellious badass, one he really quite liked.

“And here we are boys… Club Venom… hottest new spot in NYC,” Jeff said stepping out of the limo behind Puck who was glaring rather intimidatingly at anyone nearby. Wes and Nick piled out next followed by Kurt and Blaine. 

Jeff strutted past the line of people waiting at the door and whispered a few words in the bouncer’s ear. The man looked up spotting Blaine and Wes and nodding until his eyes lit on Nick and Kurt and he shook his head with a frown. Jeff’s face turned stony and even from the distance they were at, his friends could see the reddish tint to his eyes.

“Well hell that’s got to be a new record,” Puck muttered. “Come on guys. We better go handle this.” The group quickly hurried over to Jeff who was in mid-argument with the burly bouncer.

“And I already told you, you are more than welcome to come in, but you’ll have to leave your turned ‘friend’ and pet outside.” The bouncer said, smirking at Nick and Kurt as they walked up.

“Excuse me?” Kurt was outraged at being called a pet.

“I think you heard me, human.” The bouncer sneered. “Your type is not welcome here.”

“Look you overgrown leech…” Kurt began, furiously. He didn’t like the way the bouncer was sneering at him or undressing him with his creepy red eyes and he was profoundly tired of being intimidated.

“Kurt, love, let me deal with this idiot. He is clearly beneath you.” Blaine said smoothly as the manager bustled to the door. 

“What seems to be the problem here?”

“Some of us are not being allowed in to the club.” Wes said.

“I already told ‘em the policy boss. They’re fine to come in, but their ‘turned’ entertainment can’t come in unless he’s dancing.” The bouncer leered at Nick. “And the feisty little blood whore has to stay with the other donors.”

“I am getting really, really tired of being called that,” Kurt growled.

“I’ll handle this Vinnie,” The manager said coldly as he glanced at the group, his eyes flickering briefly with recognition at the sight of the Blaine, Wes, and Jeff. “Prince Blaine, Prince Wesley, and Lord Sterling…you are more than welcome to come in, but we do have rules to follow. It has always been a club rule that human pets are only allowed in the donor room and the turned are only allowed in if they are working.” The manager answered. “If we made a special exemption for you, we’d have to do it for everyone and that is just not possible.”

“I see,” Wesley said. “You do realize of course that your club policies violate at least seven different points in the anti-discrimination laws which we’ve negotiated with the human government and that I could have you shut down and will have no qualms whatsoever doing so, correct?”

“I think you’ll find that those particular laws aren’t policed quite as closely here as they are in Ohio… your highness,” the manager intoned with a frosty smile. 

“Oh we are quite aware of that, which is why we’d bypass the local government. Oddly enough I have the head of the High Council on speed dial under the name Daddy,” Blaine growled. 

“I love it when Wes and B go all royal on people,” Jeff murmured to Puck. 

“Yeah but it takes away all my fun. I like it better when they decide to quit talking and just let me lay the smack down,” Puck said conversationally.

“Gentlemen, are we really going to allow this to be blown out of proportion over some turned trash and a talking blood bag?” the manager inquired. 

Blaine glanced over at Kurt and saw the way he was wrapping his arms around himself protectively and the way that Nick was quickly putting walls back up which had taken them years to tear down and something in him snapped as the polite veneer he wore fell away. Kurt felt rather than saw the change in Blaine as the manager dropped to the ground clutching his head and writhing in pain. 

“Let me make this crystal clear to you shall I?” Blaine said silkily. “I am of the royal house of the Draculesti which means, I don’t have to touch you to hurt you. I can wipe your mind and leave you drooling and trying to finger paint with your own feces with just a thought. If I ever hear you refer to my Chosen One as either a blood whore or a blood bag ever again, I will do exactly that. Are we clear?”

“Ye-yes sir your highness,” the man stuttered. “I apologize.”

“Kurt, love, do you still wish to go dancing?” Blaine asked gently.

“I’ve lost interest,” Kurt replied, trying not to let it show how upset he was by the whole incident . “Can we please return to the hotel?”

“All right, my Chosen One, if that’s what you wish,” Blaine said smiling at Kurt before turning back to the vampire on the ground. “As for you, enjoy your brief success here because, rest assured, the Council will be getting a full report on this incident. Gentlemen, are the rest of you coming?”

“Of course your highness,” Jeff said. “This place was clearly overrated anyway and the staff left a lot to be desired.”

Blaine ushered them all back to the car with Puck bringing up the rear, glaring intimidatingly at the bouncer who was helping his boss off of the ground. As soon as they were all safely in the car, Kurt turned on Blaine. 

“Okay Blaine, exactly what the hell was that?” he demanded.

“He was rude and insulting and I didn’t like his attitude,” Blaine said defensively. 

“I couldn’t agree more, but that is not what I was talking about and you know it,” Kurt glared. “And I want a better explanation this time than ‘it’s just something people in my family can do’ Anderson.” Blaine sighed rubbing his temples.

“It’s called the thrall, or at least that’s what Grandfather Vlad, my dad’s maternal grandfather, named it. He is the first vampire to ever possess it. All of his direct descendants have it also,” Blaine said.

“But what is it?” Kurt pushed.

“It’s the ability to control others with our minds. I can influence people to do what I want. I can also tell when people are lying, if I concentrate, I can tell what they’re thinking, and I can do what you saw back there, but I have to be exceptionally angry for that, and it gives me a horrible headache afterwards,” Blaine said leaning back against the seat and closing his eyes.

“Are you ok?” Kurt asked in concern. Blaine nodded, swallowing convulsively.

“The headache is making me nauseous,” Blaine replied.

“Here, let me see if I can help,” Kurt said lightly rubbing Blaine’s forehead and temples for him, at least as well as he was able to in the limo.

“I’ll give Dad a call when we get back Blaine so you can just get to sleep. God what a mess this all was! Tonight was not a glowing example of our community.” Wes said. “Those kinds of things don’t happen anymore.”

“To you guys, maybe.” Nick quietly added.

“What?” Jeff turned at looked at his ‘friend’.

“There are still places where I’m not exactly welcome because my family isn’t 700 years old and, let’s face it, I have it better than most turned vampires because of who my father is.” Nick shrugged.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Jeff demanded. “You know we’d never have let anyone treat you like that Nick.”

“Because sometimes I have to stand on my own and I knew you would react like this.” Nick shrugged again. “I learned how to deal with it before Dalton and things are significantly better in Ohio.”

“We’re here,” Puck said as the limo pulled to a stop. “Come on Blaine, I’ll help you upstairs.”

“Well, this night has just been a bunch of revelations.” Kurt said as he and Blaine lay snuggled together on the king sized bed in Blaine’s room.

“I’m sorry your first night in New York ended up like this… dealing with prejudiced assholes and a boyfriend with a migraine,” Blaine apologized. 

“It’s fine. I’m in New York and I’m with you. That’s makes it pretty much perfect,” Kurt replied lightly kissing Blaine’s temple. “You feeling any better?”

“A little bit,” Blaine responded. “Sleepy though.”

“Then go to sleep goofy,” Kurt teased.

“Mmm…I will if you sing to me,” Blaine murmured. 

“Your wish is my command,” Kurt said and softly began to sing, watching as Blaine’s eyes slowly drifted closed.

“Good night, my handsome prince” Kurt whispered as he closed his eyes and he too drifted off to sleep.


	20. Chapter Twenty

“They have taken away what truly makes us Vampires and sought to blend us in with the pets and cattle. They have forgotten that we are as far above the human rabble from whom we feed as the humans are the livestock whose flesh they devour. But one day, one day we shall rise up and claim what is ours. One day the Vampire will hold dominion and hunt the night once more.”

-an excerpt from “The True Vampire” by Lord Sylvester Smythe

 

Kurt woke up the next morning well before a still recovering Blaine. Although he hadn’t slept well the night before because of his concern for Blaine, not to mention the revelations last night of exactly how powerful his soon to be mate really was, he was feeling surprisingly energized. He decided to take advantage of the quiet to send a quick message off to his father and shower. He then made himself a cup of coffee and slipped onto the balcony to watch the city as it woke up. He didn’t even jump when Blaine wrapped his arms around him and held him close.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Blaine asked.

“It is from up here.” Kurt admitted. “Which makes remembering how ugly some of the people make it even harder.”

“I’m sorry about last night love. I hate seeing your dreams of New York as this perfect wonderful place shattered. I think that’s why I lost control like I did. I wish you’d never seen that side of me. I don’t want you to be scared of me or what I can do Kurt. You know I would never hurt you don’t you?” Blaine said. Kurt turned in his arms a determined look on his face.

“Of course I know that Blaine. The thought never even entered my mind. My only concern has been for you. It has to be hard for you knowing you can do that…” Kurt said. Blaine studied the skyline his eyes distant.

“That is only the second time I’ve ever done it. The other time was after they finally caught the last of the rogues who had killed my mother and older brother. The man was laughing about it and I wanted to hurt him like he hurt my family. I was so angry… furious. I wiped out his mind Kurt… blew it out like a candle. After it was over, I felt like a monster, in some ways I guess I am,” Blaine said, refusing to look Kurt in the eyes, afraid of what he’d see there. Kurt gently placed his hands on Blaine’s face forcing him to meet his gaze.

“You’re not a monster. You are one of the kindest, most gentle people I know. You lost control. How old were you when that happened?”

“Thirteen, I was just coming into my powers. After that, Dad realized how strong I was going to be and he sent me to live with Grandfather Vlad for a year so that he could train me and teach me the control I’d need,” Blaine responded.

“Grandfather Vlad? You’ve mentioned him before. Are you two close?” Kurt asked hoping to get Blaine thinking about something other than the disastrous evening they’d had the night before. Blaine smiled slightly.

“As close as one can be with Count Vladimir Tepes. He’s very old and rather cranky actually, but Dad says he’s only been that way since Grandmother Mina died in the plague. Apparently, I remind everyone in the family rather strongly of him.”

“I would like to meet him one day.” Kurt said. “Especially if he’s as important to you as he seems to be.”

“Perhaps that day will come…one day in the future. I know he would want to meet someone who has stolen my heart away.” Blaine smiled.

“Well…there is always the mating ceremony, but that’s kind of up in the air right now.” Kurt commented. “We could always have a family reunion this summer so I can meet the rest of your extended family.”

“That might not be the best idea, sweetheart.” Blaine answered.

“Why not?”

“My extended family is a little bit difficult. They don’t all get along and some of them…well…they’d see you as a snack Kurt.”

“Yeah…let’s just wait on that idea, then.” Kurt chuckled.

Blaine smirked as he pulled Kurt closer kissing him, pulling reluctantly away when he heard a knock on the door and the telltale sound of dishes lightly clanging together as the room service cart was parked outside their door. He waited until he heard the elevator doors clang together and begin its descent back to the main hotel. He had taken the liberty of ordering a daily breakfast for Kurt before they’d checked in and the Plaza staff had strict instructions to leave the food cart outside their door.

“I believe breakfast just arrived. Come in and eat something.” Blaine pulled himself out of Kurt’s comforting arms and away from his chosen one’s warm body.

“Blaine, I haven’t even ordered anything and I know yours is already in the fridge.” Kurt said.

“Ahh…but I ordered for you since you have a busy day today.”

“What are you talking about? What busy day? We’re not rehearsing until later this afternoon.” 

“You are going shopping with Nick and Jeff while Wes and I go take care of some business for our fathers.”

“Shopping? You just said the magic words.”

“I thought that might do the trick,” Blaine grinned. “You need to eat to keep up your strength though because shopping with Nick and Jeff is always an adventure. You should have seen them in Chicago. I swear, they had to go buy more luggage to get all their purchases home.” Blaine remarked. “Which reminds me, I have something for you.”

“For me? Blaine? What did you do?” Kurt asked with a frown.

“I told you I was going to get you a card for our accounts.” Blaine held out the platinum Visa that was embossed with Kurt’s name on it.

“How on Earth did you do that so quickly?”

“I didn’t. My father did. I called him yesterday when you were getting ready and it was delivered to the room when we were out.” Blaine was still holding out the card, but Kurt just looked at him doubtfully, biting his lip. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m still not sure if I’m comfortable with this.”

“Kurt, you are going to be my mate. It’s all going to be yours anyway. So what if I want to start sharing it with you now rather than later?”

“It’s just that I don’t want people thinking I’m with you for your money.”

“Sweetie, I don’t care if you don’t use it at all. I just want you to know that it’s there for you to use when you are comfortable.” Blaine said.

Kurt reached out tentatively and took the card in his hands. “What’s the limit?”

“Oh, there’s no limit. Visa doesn’t give us one.”

“Really?” Kurt’s eyes lit up at the idea that he didn’t have to watch what he bought and his brain started thinking up all kinds of plans. Plans which he ruthlessly squashed down as he carefully tucked the card away in his wallet, vowing to himself not to use it.

“If you’re ready, breakfast is waiting.” Blaine said.

“I could eat.” Kurt acknowledged.

“Then come along, my darling.” Blaine took Kurt’s hand and led him to the dining area and retrieved his breakfast.

*****

Kurt headed into the bedroom after breakfast to put the finishing touches on his wardrobe for the day because one could not go shopping without looking their best. He heard the door open and the rowdy boys filing in.

“Morning gentlemen.” Kurt chirped happily as he entered the living room, the platinum Visa securely resting in his wallet, right next to his father’s card.

“So...someone is chipper this morning.” Jeff teased. “You must have had a good night Kurtie. What is the cause of that smile on your face?”

“None of your business Jeff.”

Jeff sniffed the air as Blaine reached over and smacked him in the back of the head.

“Stop doing that, Anderson. Your boy has to be chipper for a reason.” Jeff taunted.

“He is Jeff, just not one you need to know about,” Blaine replied.

“Can we please concentrate on what’s important here?” Kurt asked. “Shopping.”

“Glad to know that you are all fueled up for our day.” Nick said. “Yes, Blaine, before you ask, we won’t let him out of our sight.” Nick preemptively answered his friend.

“You may go and shop, but do not be late for practice.” Wesley ordered. “There is a schedule and we will not deviate from it. We cannot afford chaos.”

“That sounds like a challenge to me, Wesley.” Jeff remarked.

“Remember that you can be replaced, Jeffery. Puck is here and can step in.” Wesley said.

“Dude, don’t drag me into this.” Puck said. “Although everyone knows I’m better than Jeff.”

“At what Puckerman? As I recall, you’re womanless right now.”

“And you’re boyfriendless as well.”

“Not anymore.” Jeff plopped onto Nick’s lap and gazed adoringly at the other boy.

Kurt squealed with delight. “When did this happen?” 

“Last night when we finally got our heads out of our asses. And let me tell you, it was so…”

“What happened to keeping this private for a little while, Jeffery?” Nick’s voice raised an octave.

“I can’t let Puck win this time, baby.” Jeff cooed.

“You are impossible. Why do I put up with you?”

“Because you love me. You want to kiss me. You want to touch me. You think I’m sexy.”

“Or you’ve finally just grown on him… like a fungus,” Puck grinned, drawing the attention away from Nick who was looking a little uncomfortable with the focus on him. 

“Blaine, shouldn’t we take Puck with us?” Jeff asked innocently wiping the smirk off of Puck’s face.

“Good point,” Blaine agreed. “Puck you’re shopping.”

“Do you really hate me that much Anderson?” Puck said. “I’m your guard.”

“Wes’ bodyguards can watch both of us, Puck. You go with the boys shopping.” Blaine ordered.

“Fine, but I am not happy about this.” Puck complained.

“Just wait, Puck. We’re going to have so much fun. Hours of shopping with me,” Jeff said jovially.

“What the hell did I get myself into?” Puck wondered out loud.

“Oh quit whining Puckerman. It won’t be that bad. Now what are the rest of you going to be doing while we’re shopping and while Blaine and Wes are in their meeting?” Kurt asked as he put on his coat, feeling suddenly like den mother to a group of rather rowdy scouts.

“Just hanging out in this amazing penthouse.” Trent said looking at the entertainment center with a gleeful expression. “Video game marathon, gentlemen?”

“Most definitely,” Thad agreed.

“Just don’t destroy anything and have fun,” Kurt told them before turning to Blaine. “I’ll see you later.”

“Have fun and be careful,” Blaine said, pulling him in for a kiss.

 

Kurt and the other three boys rode the elevator down to the lobby where they climbed into the waiting limo and Jeff gave the driver instructions to their first store. He was in seventh heaven as soon they entered. The elegant racks of clothing were just begging him to buy, buy, buy. Jeff seemed to sense this.

“Go for it, Kurt.” he encouraged like the devil on his shoulder. “I know Blaine gave you the platinum card.”

“I’m not using it, Jeff.”

“Look, it’s McQueen.” Jeff waved a jacket in his face temptingly. “And it would look great on you.”

“You’re evil.”

“Why thank you. I try, I really do.” Jeff laughingly answered, ducking the resulting smack from Nick.

“Let him shop, Jeffery.” Nick ordered.

“Honey I am actively encouraging him to,” Jeff said picking up an expensive looking Italian leather messenger bag and putting it in front of his face. “Buy me Kurtie! I’ll go really well with that cute jacket you bought last month!”

“Oh Gaga! I am weak. Alright you and Blaine and your evil platinum card win. Let’s shop,” Kurt finally conceded.

“Yay!” Jeff said clapping and leading Kurt further into the store.

Kurt’s eyes gleamed as he looked through racks and racks of clothing that he would never find in Ohio. “Oh Jeffery,” he sang. “Come here.”

“What?”

“Hold these.” Kurt dumped several items on Jeff’s arms, much to Puck’s amusement.

“Owned, dude.” Puck smirked.

“Oh, don’t think you’re getting off that easy, Puck. Nick, let him carry those things. We have work to do.” 

Nick smirked as he dropped his own things into Puck’s arms, Kurt’s laughter carrying through the store.

 

Several hours and multiple stores later, Kurt and his entourage entered the last store of the day. Kurt sauntered over to a rack of elegant bowties, determined to find a gift for Blaine. He swiftly pulled ten off the rack, handing them to Jeffery to hold as he wandered over to a display of silk socks.

“May I help you gentlemen?” A portly bald man sauntered up to them.

“I’m looking for a gift for my fiancé. Something fabulous.” Kurt was pleasant.

“I don’t think we carry anything that would be suitable. I think you would find something more to your tastes across the street.” The man said, causing all four boys to look out the glass windows at the store across the street, aptly named “The Human Touch.”

Jeff was the first to react, realizing what had been implied. “Look you offensive swine of a man, I’d suggest you keep a civil tongue in your ugly, hairless head when addressing the Chosen One of a prince of the Draculesti.”

“Oh, so this is Prince Blaine’s little boy toy? I’d heard he was stupid enough to bring his pet here. I couldn’t tell much about him in that story they ran though. All the humans look the same to me…like an afternoon snack.” The portly man showed off his fangs.

Puck handed Nick the clothing and stepped in front of Kurt. “You do realize that threatening a member of the royal family is punishable by death?”

“He’s not a member of the family. He’s just a worthless pet.”

“I think you’ll find that you are wrong,” Puck growled just before his arm flashed out and the store keeper was on the floor.

“Oh my God Puckerman!” Nick exclaimed. “You can’t just do that to people.”

“Actually, in this case, he was acting completely within his duties as Kurt’s guard,” Jeff shrugged, subtly kicking the fat man back down as he attempted to get to his feet.

“We’re leaving. I suggest you stay down until we’re gone,” Puck growled, grabbing Kurt as Jeff grabbed a still spluttering Nick. They were back in the car, driving away before Kurt had time to process what really happened.

“What the hell was that Puck?” Nick demanded.

“That was me doing my duty Nicholas. I am Prince Blaine’s second. That means, when he is not here to defend Kurt from assholes like that, it falls to me. I believed him to be a threat to my prince’s Chosen One so I eliminated the threat. It’s that simple Nick,” Puck shrugged. Nick shook his head, clearly not agreeing, but choosing to let the matter drop for now.

“Are you okay?” Nick asked, turning to an oddly silent Kurt.

“Other than feeling like Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’?” Kurt said. “I’m just peachy.”

“Kurt, the guy was an asshole. It’s not your fault.” Jeff replied. “Just one more ultra-conservative vampire out there in the world, but I think Puck took care of him.”

“Jeff’s right,” Nick agreed. “While I may not agree with the methods Noah used, at least maybe that idiot will think before he speaks next time.”

“You know, it’s funny I always saw New York as a place I could be myself because humans of my sexuality have it much easier here than in Ohio, and now, because of who I love, I won’t be accepted here either. I’m starting to wonder if there is anyplace I will ever fit in.” Kurt said sadly.

“Kurt…” Nick said. “You and I have to stick together. We can’t let them bring us down. If we let them do that, they win.”

“It’s just…it’s just that…”

“It’s going to be hard, Kurt, you knew that when you accepted Blaine as the one for you, but you have a chance to make a difference out there with Blaine at your side.” Nick added. “Don’t let the ignorant assholes of the world win.”

“Nick is right, Kurt.” Puck said. “You are stronger than you know. You didn’t let Karofsky ever win when he tried to destroy you. Sometimes, your dreams change. You’ll find your place… you and Blaine together.”

“And wherever that is, you know we’ll be there to support you,” Nick said.

“And protect you,” Puck added.

“And make you smile,” Jeff grinned.

“Thanks guys” Kurt said offering them a tentative smile.

“Anytime Porcelain,” Puck responded.

 

A short time later the four boys walked into the practice room. Blaine rushed to Kurt’s side. 

“How was the shopping? Did you buy anything?” Blaine asked.

“Shopping was amazing.”

“Until…” Puck interrupted.

“Puck!” Kurt glared at him.

“Until what?” Blaine demanded. Kurt sighed.

“It was nothing, Blaine, just a rude store clerk.”

“Why do I feel like there was something more to it than that?” Blaine asked his eyes narrowed. 

“Because there was.” Puck said. “It was the last store of the day and Kurt was trying to find a gift for you and the store clerk told us to go across the street.”

“What was across the street?” Blaine asked.

“A skanky store called ‘The Human Touch’.” 

“I see.” Blaine said icily. 

“Oh, it gets worse man.”

“What did you do Jeffery?” Wes asked with dread, coming in halfway through the conversation.

“It wasn’t me this time.” Jeff said, sticking out his tongue.

“Will someone please tell me what happened?” Blaine growled.

“The guy implied Kurt was a snack, so I took him down.”

”What!” Wes shouted.

Blaine snarled, his eyes going flat and dull. “Which store was this Puckerman?”

“Blaine, it’s already taken care of.” Kurt soothed, only relaxing when Blaine’s eyes returned to their normal color. “We need to concentrate on practicing.”

“Fine… for now, Kurt, but we will talk about it later, alone.”

“Ohhhh…..Blaine’s going to ‘talk’ to Kurt when they’re alone.” Jeff catcalled, breaking into the song “When I Get You Alone”.

“How old are you Jeffery?” Blaine remarked.

“Old enough to know what you do when you’re alone.” Jeff taunted.

“GENTLEMEN!” Wes shouted. “Can we please concentrate on practice? You’re wasting our time.”

“Fine.” Jeff pouted.

After that practice ran smoothly, except for when Jeff started licking the back of Nick’s neck during Kurt and Blaine’s duet. Wes ended up having to put them on opposite sides to keep practice going. After several run throughs and a glance at the clock, he released them and called practice over.

Back at the hotel, Blaine gave strict orders to Puck that they were not to be disturbed unless the hotel was on fire or the zombies were attacking. He ushered Kurt into the penthouse, firmly shutting and locking the door behind them.

“Now, we can talk.” Blaine said, crossing his arms over his chest with a very determined look on his face..

“Talk about what?” Kurt said feigning ignorance. He was working hard not to dwell on the few minutes of the day which had been ruined and concentrate instead on how amazing the rest of his day had been. Blaine, however, was in no mood to let sleeping dogs lie.

“You know very well what Kurt. Your shopping trip. I want to know exactly what was said and done to you.”

“Blaine, Puck handled the situation. He did his job.” Kurt sighed.

“No one is allowed to threaten you. You are my Chosen One and a part of my family now. You are afforded rights and protections, Kurt. ”

“Blaine, you cannot protect me from everything. And you cannot stop people from talking. It’s not worth your time to try.” Kurt said. “Some people are not going to like me or the fact that you aren’t mating with some perfect model of pureblood society. We both have to learn to deal with that. If we spend all of our time worrying about what they think it will destroy us. I love you. I know you love me and both of our fathers and all of our friends are happy for us. The people who matter accept and support us Blaine. To hell with everyone else.” Blaine studied him for several seconds a look of shock on his face before he shook his head with a smile small.

“You’re right Kurt,” Blaine said. “Everything you just said was completely right and the fact that after all the crap you’ve had to deal with you can still feel that way is possibly the hottest thing I have ever seen.”

“Blaine!” Kurt laughed, his heart feeling lighter. “Are you channeling Jeff now?”

“Oh, you don’t want me to start channeling Jeff.” Blaine teased back, pulling Kurt to him with a gleam in his eyes which was starting to become quite familiar to Kurt. “You’d never stop blushing.”

“Try me, Blaine.” Kurt murmured, just before Blaine’s mouth descended upon his.


	21. Chapter Twenty One

"The human problem has become a scourge to the vampire community. They infest our world like rats, infiltrating our covens and none, not even our oldest and most royal of houses is safe from them. Something must be done lest we become like them… weak and useless… suitable for nothing but being the pets of our betters."

-an excerpt from "The Human Problem" by Lord Rolph Von Eteen III

 

The day of Nationals dawned bright and clear, filling everyone with happiness and hope that they would win. Standing backstage before their performance was nerve-wracking experience for both Kurt and Nick with all of the other pure-blood show choirs around them, many of them sending the two boys hostile looks. As Blaine stood waiting with Kurt in his arms, he felt the human's rapid heartbeat that had not settled the entire morning. He knew that Kurt was a nervous wreck, despite the brave front he had been putting on for everyone else.

"Calm down, Kurt." Blaine whispered. "Your heart is going crazy."

"Can you blame me? This is Nationals, Blaine." Kurt whispered back. "And as if that's not bad enough I have to perform in front of people whose natural inclination is to either hate me or have me for lunch, if not both."

"Kurt, we've practiced until we could do this in our sleep and you're going to blow them out of the water." Blaine took Kurt's hand in his and kissed the baby soft skin, trying to ignore the whispers he heard around him, hoping they didn't reach Kurt's ears. "Don't worry about who is watching, just tune them out and sing, love."

"Is Dalton now allowing human pets?"

"Is Duvall as good as they say he is?"

"Wonder if the Prince has trained his pet to sit, stand, and stay on command?"

Blaine hissed at the comments, but kept his attention on Kurt, feeling when he flinched after the last one. "Ignore them, baby. You have what it takes to be a star. I want you to go out there and show everyone just how amazing you are. I love you, Kurt."

"I love you too, Blaine." Kurt hugged his boyfriend and took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

"That's the boy I know and love." Blaine laughed as the Warblers got into formation and walked onto the stage.

The Warblers performed flawlessly, even earning a standing ovation at the end of Kurt and Blaine's duet, shocking everyone. They bowed and jubilantly headed backstage. As they congregated there to celebrate how well they had done, a tall, dark skinned vampire approached them with a smile on his face.

"Looks like I arrived just in time. Hello boys."

"David! What are you doing here?" Wes asked after giving the boy a hug.

"You didn't think I'd miss seeing you guys at Nationals, did you?" David smirked before turning his dark eyes on Kurt. "So, you must be the famous Kurt that I've heard so much about."

"That's me." Kurt said meekly. He still had issues with vampires that he didn't know. Blaine put a reassuring arm around him.

"Love, this is David Thompson, he's another one of my cousins, as well as one of my closest friends. He's also a Warbler, even though he's been gone this year while his father acts as Ambassador to Great Britain."

"It's very nice to finally meet you, Kurt. Blaine has told me so much about you. I was really excited to hear that he'd found someone. He doesn't shut up about you." David confided, causing a deep blush to stain Kurt's cheeks.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Kurt asked, glancing at Blaine.

"Definitely a good thing." David smiled just before being tackled by the blonde blur of motion that was Jeff.

"Wevid!" he shouted pulling David and Wes into a double headlock. "You're back!"

"Yes Jeffrey I'm back and Wes and I are not now, nor will we ever be a couple so quit calling us Wevid. We're cousins you moron," David's muffled voice said coming from under Jeff's arm. "And let go of my head!"

"Now Jeff." Nick ordered, waiting until his boyfriend complied before continuing. "How long are you back for David?"

"Just long enough to see you guys perform then it's back to London. My father had to return to the States for an important meeting and I just happened to tag along."

"When are you coming back?" Nick asked. "Wes is driving us nuts."

"Hey! I am not that bad." Wes defended himself.

"Yeah, you kind of are. You spent two hours organizing your socks Wes," Nick pointed out.

"You get really anal about things without David to balance you out."

"The drawer was messy," Wes defended. David chuckled.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I probably won't be back to Dalton until next year. My father said I will be able to graduate with you guys." David answered.

"Next school year is going to be epic. Seniors Rule!" Jeff shouted.

"Jeff, calm down." Nick tiredly said.

"Yes, dear."

"Okay, someone has to give me the details on when that finally happened." David said. "And who won the bet 'cause I could use the spending cash?"

"You guys bet on us?" Nick growled. The other boys nodded. He narrowed his eyes. "And who won?"

"Ummm…" Kurt said, sheepishly raising his hand.

"Kurt?" Nick and Jeff said in shock.

"If it makes you feel any better, I used my winnings to buy those shoes today," Kurt said. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Well at least it went to a good cause I suppose," Nick murmured. "Especially since you've already said I could borrow them."

The boys continued to reminisce with David filling him in on everything that had happened since he'd been gone, only stopping when the lights flashed, signaling the posting of the schools that would continue to the final showcase. The boys of Dalton were not surprised when they were at the top of the list. Several hours later and another performance down, the final list of the top schools that would go on to compete for the title of National Champions was posted and Dalton was still at the top of the list.

Their final performance was immaculate; everyone hitting every note and every step perfectly.

 

It was only when they were called back to the stage that the nerves hit Kurt. He was really here and this was really happening.

"In third place are our competitors from Illinois…Oakbrook Academy." The announcer stated. "In second place… from New York… Westchester Preparatory Academy…making our winners Ohio's Dalton Academy Warblers."

The boys burst out into loud cheers. Everyone was hugging and talking and chaos reigned for a few moments. Kurt was so happy he could have burst as Blaine held the trophy up with one hand, while the other wrapped around him, pulling him tight to his prince's side.

Kurt pulled away as they moved backstage, excusing himself to the restroom, taking Nick and Jeff with him. As they wound through the crowd, Nick lost his grip on Kurt's arm and they were separated.

Kurt found himself pushed into a wall in a small alcove near the backstage area. He searched his pockets, looking for his phone to text Puck or Blaine or anyone from the group, remembering the directive given to him. It was only then he realized that his phone was in the pocket of the jacket he'd left in the limo. He turned around, trying to see if he could spot any familiar faces, his blood running cold as he noticed a group of vampires wearing Westchester Preparatory Academy jackets advancing on him with cold smirks on their faces.

"Where's Kurt?" Nick said frantically once he'd located the group, gathering all the eyes on him.

"He's not with you?" Blaine asked, looking around.

"We got separated. He wasn't in the restroom. We were hoping he would be here," Jeff replied.

"Find him!"

The boys quickly spread out searching for the familiar heartbeat, but it was drowned out by all the noise backstage.

It was Nick who finally found Kurt in a little out of the way corner. If his heart had been beating, it would have stopped at the sight before him.

Kurt was surrounded by a large group of vampires fighting for all he was worth. The other boys were, Nick knew, toying with him. He knew because they had done the same to him. He froze for a moment unable to move as flashback of his own attack assaulted him. It wasn't until one of the boys ran a long sharp nail down Kurt's chest, ripping his shirt and drawing blood that he was able to move. Nick didn't even know how he plowed through the pure blood vampires surrounding his friend to place himself in front of Kurt, protecting the other boy with his fangs bared. He was determined that what had happened to him would never happen again, especially not to someone he cared about.

"Nicky, Nicky, Nicky. We never thought we'd see you again. Of course, not as much of you as we saw the last time." The ring leader winked at Nick. Swallowing convulsively, Nick stood his ground.

"I'm not that scared little boy anymore Jackson. I've grown in more ways than one and I will not let you do this," Nick hissed, keeping Kurt behind him.

Kurt realized with those words exactly who these vampires were. They were the ones who had hurt Nick all those years ago. Kurt's blood ran cold and he prayed that the rest of the Warblers would find them quickly. He was completely terrified, but he was not going to let that show. He and Nick would stand together and win.

"We'll see how strong you are." One of the boys moved closer, getting into Nick's personal space. Nick took a step back, his hands shaking, but he still did not move away from Kurt. "I still remember how your body felt and it's been so long. Sure you don't want…"

"Please," Kurt snarled, determined to draw the attention back to himself. He knew if they could keep the boys talking, Blaine and the others would show up and then hell would be brought down on their heads. "Why on earth would he want an ignorant little leech like you with your "Quick Cuts" hair and clearly off the rack fashion?"

"Shut up pet," the boy snarled, turning away from Nick and advancing on Kurt with evil intent in his eyes.

"Get the hell away from him scum," Nick ordered shoving the larger boy.

"Oh, my sweet little Nicky, you have gotten so feisty. I like it. You know you've missed me though," the other vampire smirked, his hand reaching out and grasping Nick's face in a vice-like grip. "Your eyes are saying yes and soon your body will be too. Perhaps I'll just take what I want, again."

Just as the boy's mouth was descending onto a struggling Nick, he was jerked away and punched squarely in the face. Kurt sagged in relief. The cavalry, in the form of Jeff, Blaine, Puck, Wes, and David had arrived.

"He's not your sweet little anything." Jeff snarled. "And you lay so much as a finger on him again and I will make it so your own mother won't recognize you asshole." Nick's attacker picked himself up off the ground spitting out blood.

"Nicky, I didn't realize you had found another pure blood to whore yourself out to, and it's the infamous Lord Sterling. You must have improved with age, but then again, I trained you well didn't I trash? Oh the stories I could tell you about him, Sterling." The larger vampire smiled showing bloodstained fangs.

"Do you mean the ones about how you raped him? I've heard them," Jeff growled.

"Is that what he told you? Nicky, I'm hurt. He likes it rough…when you just take what you want," the boy said licking his lips.

"No! That's not true, Jeff. I didn't want him to. I didn't…" Nick said shaking his head in denial tears running down his face. Jeff took Nick's hand squeezing it.

"I know baby," Jeff reassured him. "They're just poisonous lies from scum not worthy to lick your shoes."

"Wow Nicky, you have him almost as blinded as you did me," a handsome vampire with dark hair and startling silver eyes said.

"What happened to you, Rolph?" Nick asked

"They convinced me I could do better, that I should do better than you." Rolph snorted. "You were just a turned piece of trash I was wasting my time on."

"That's right Rolph. See he's seen the error of his ways and I'm sure Lord Sterling will as well. Hey, Nicky, do you still have that little reminder we left for you or did Daddy fix it?"

"You mean this?" Nick revealed the 'T' scar on his chest. "Oh, I kept it to remind me who I am… to remind me of all that I have been through and how strong I am. I have true friends who care about me and are worthy of my love. I'm proud of who I am. Nothing you say can touch me anymore."

"Especially not if you no longer have hands with which to do so" Blaine hissed putting a possessive arm around Kurt.

"You're threatening me over some turned trash and your little lost pet?"

"See, now you shouldn't have said that," David said smiling coldly.

"We're all rather fond of Kurt and Nick you see," Wes added.

"They're nothing." The ring leader snorted. "Didn't you learn to share your toys in grade school?"

"Yeah, the Draculesti aren't real big in to sharing… especially not where their Chosen Ones are concerned," Puck added. "Now, here's what we're going to do. I'm gonna give you ten seconds to run. When I catch you, I'm going to remove any parts which I feel aren't vital to you. Ready?"

"But he's just a human" The bully said pointing at Kurt.

"One… two…"

"And he's only slightly better…This is ridiculous…" the leader said nodding towards Nick. His followers were not so sure and began to back away.

"Three… four… Come on dude, at least try to run… it's no fun if I don't get to chase you."

"Jackson, come on," Rolph said tugging on the leader.

"Five, six, seven…"

The boys ran.

"Ten" Puck grinned following them in a blur of motion.

"He skipped eight and nine," David pointed out.

"He gave them eight more seconds than I would have." Jeff growled. "Are you two okay?"

"I'm fine, just a little shaken," Nick said. "They didn't touch me. It's Kurt I'm worried about."

"I'm fine," Kurt said. "Let's just get out of here."

"Kurt, your shirt is torn, you're bleeding, and you're already bruising where they were holding your arms," Nick pointed out. "You are so not fine"

"Okay, so I might be a little worse for wear, but we stood up to them, Nick. We fought them and defended ourselves. We won this time," Kurt said grinning. Nick looked at him in shock for a moment before a smile blossomed on his face.

"We did, didn't we?" he said. "You were amazing Kurt. I don't know if I could have stood up to them like that if it weren't for you."

"Hey," Jeff said pouting. "What about me? I punched the guy!"

"You were my hero love," Nick said pulling Jeff to him and kissing him rather thoroughly, leaving Jeff with a silly grin on his face when he pulled away.

"Well, that being the case," Wes said. "I believe we have more than one reason to celebrate this evening then. Shall we gentlemen?"

With that, the Warblers exited the exhibition hall en masse, headed for the penthouse.

The party was in full swing before Puck returned.

"Where have you been?" Kurt demanded from his position on Blaine's lap. The vampire had not let Kurt leave his side the entire party, which Kurt couldn't bring himself to protest because Blaine had also been showering him with kisses and affection.

"I was out doing a little hunting." Puck shrugged taking a long swig from a bottle of blood he had just cracked open.

"Hunting?" Kurt asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Relax Porcelain. My prey wasn't human." Puck said. "Nick, come here."

Nick hesitantly climbed off of Jeff's lap, slowly walking over to Puck.

"I brought you a little present." Puck handed Nick a bag.

"What did you do Puckerman?" Kurt demanded. Puck just grinned as Wes and David, having heard the conversation came over to see exactly what Puck could possibly have brought. Nick opened the bag, looked inside, looked back at Puck, looked in the bag again, and looked up at Puck once more, before a wide and devilish grin that looked a lot more like Jeff than Nick bloomed on his face.

"Seriously?"

"Yep!" Puck beamed with pride.

"I love you." Nick hugged Puck tightly.

"Hey! Puckerman, he's mine, no worming your way into my man's affections with presents!"

"Relax Jeff. You'll like this one too," Puck smirked.

"You are entirely too proud of yourself Noah. Do I even want to know what's in the bag?" Kurt asked.

"Maybe not, but I do," Wes said. Still grinning, Nick dumped out the bag onto the table. Fifteen sets of fangs, roots and all, lay glistening in the moonlight. Kurt recoiled, while the others crowded forward.

"Nice," Blaine smirked.

"Nice? That is gross!" Kurt shouted.

"I think it's sweet." Nick said softly.

"How is that sweet?" Kurt asked.

"They belonged to the boys who attacked me." Nick answered.

"It's a vampire thing Porcelain," Puck said. "They belittled you and Nick because they thought they were better than you, so I took away what made them Vampires. They will be humiliated and maybe get little taste of what it's like to be treated the way they have been treating people all their lives."

"I suppose that there's some justice in that, but how will they feed? Won't they starve?" Kurt asked, looking around.

"They'll grow back…. eventually…" David answered.

"Now for a little more justice…" Jeff said, tossing the fangs into the roaring fire in the fire pit.

"Do they actually burn?" Kurt asked.

"Yes, Kurt. They burn. Sadly burning them means that it will take that much longer for them to grow back. Guess the boys at Westchester will need to invest in some baby bottles if they don't want to starve," Jeff smirked, retrieving a fang that was on fire, blowing it out and sticking it back in the fire.

"Maybe we should send them some as a consolation prize." Kurt said impishly. "I'll put it on my platinum card."

"I love you." Blaine smiled widely at Kurt, showing off his own fangs.

"Okay…let's not dwell on them…new subject please." Kurt commanded.

"What are we doing for the next two days?" Nick asked.

"Kurt and I are staying here." Blaine stated.

"We are?'" Kurt said with a raised eyebrow. Blaine nodded, pulling Kurt to him and kissing him rather thoroughly.

"Kurt and Blaine sitting in a tree…" Jeff teased. Without removing his lips from Kurt's, Blaine reached out and smacked Jeff in the back of the head. "Nick! Are you going to let him get away with that?"

"I'll kiss it and make it all better later," Nick responded as Blaine pulled away from a dazed looking Kurt.

"Everyone needs to go away now." Blaine said, nuzzling at Kurt's neck and nipping lightly.

"But I just got here." Puck complained.

"Come on Puckerman. We'll move the party to our suite while Blaine ravishes Kurt up here." Jeff winked.

"Like you and Nick won't be doing the same thing eventually?" Blaine murmured

"Touché Anderson….touché" Jeff laughed before leaving Blaine and Kurt alone.

 

Kurt ran as fast as his legs would carry him, but he knew it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. They were bigger, stronger, faster. He could feel their hot breath on the back of his neck and he sobbed in fear, his heart racing. "Miss me ladylips?" a voice sneered as he felt the fangs sinking into his neck. He screamed Blaine's name…

"Kurt!" Blaine's frantic voice finally reached his panicked ears, and he slowly swam back to the surface of consciousness, realizing he was in the penthouse in New York, not the dark grounds of McKinley High's football field, and he was with Blaine not being attacked by David Karofsky.

"Blaine," Kurt sobbed throwing himself into his boyfriend's arms.

"Shh… I'm here. It's okay, my love. It was just nightmare. It wasn't real. You're safe," Blaine said stroking his hair and kissing the top of his head.

"God! It was so real. I could hear him chasing me… feel it when he bit me," Kurt shuddered.

"Karofsky?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded against his chest.

"Why can't I stop having these dreams?" he demanded.

"It's your mind's way of coping. You've been through a terrible trauma Kurt. It will just take time," Blaine said, helping Kurt to lay back down in the bed. "Do you want me to get you a drink?"

"I'm thirsty, but I don't want you to leave me," Kurt admitted.

"There are glasses in the bathroom. I'll get you some water and be back before you can blink," Blaine promised. He rose, padding to the bathroom and returning in an instant. Kurt took the glass, drinking greedily from it before handing it back to Blaine

"Better?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded, watching as Blaine returned the glass to the bathroom. Blushing when he realized his gaze had settled firmly his boyfriend's rather nice ass, and that said boyfriend was coming back and had been talking to him.

"Kurt? Are you ok? Where were you just then?" Blaine asked in concern.

"I…uh… your pants…they're flannel and hideous. We have to get you out of those pants." Kurt blurted, blushing as soon as he realized exactly what he had said. Blaine smirked, waggling his eyebrows as he climbed into bed next to Kurt.

"Just be glad I'm not Jeff right now because the way you just said that…"

"I didn't mean it like that."

"That's just not nice, Kurt. Get my hopes up and then dash them."

"Who says I dashed your hopes? I'm not some fragile little flower like you guys keep treating me. I have the same wants and desires as everyone else," Kurt said frowning.

"I know that Kurt. I just don't want to rush you into something you aren't ready for and I… when we… when vampires become aroused we tend to umm… bite and well… you're still having nightmares. I want you, Kurt. I want you so badly that I ache for it sometimes. I want to be inside of you. I want feel every inch of you and god I want to taste you, but I know you aren't ready for that yet and I can wait until you are," Blaine rambled in what was possibly the most awkward, sweetest, sexiest thing Blaine had ever said to him.

"You're right. I'm not ready yet," Kurt admitted. "But I will be someday soon I think because Blaine, you need to know, I want you just as badly as you do me. I…" he paused blushing.

"You what?" Blaine prompted. Kurt took a deep breath closing his eyes.

"I… I.. think about you… about us… together…a lot." He said, his voice husky and deeper than Blaine had ever heard it, and when he opened his eyes and Blaine saw the look in them, it was almost enough to make him come undone.

"Kurt," Blaine said his name, not even caring if it came out as more of a moan than he'd have liked. Kurt bit his lip and Blaine couldn't stop himself from leaning in and tasting those lips himself with just the briefest brush of a kiss which left them both wanting more.

"Blaine," Kurt murmured. "I… want us to do more… more than just… kissing… I'm not ready for everything yet, but… more…"

"We can… we can do that," Blaine choked out pulling Kurt to him and nuzzling at his neck as he had earlier that night at the party. Kurt felt the breath on the shell of his ear and shuddered in anticipated pleasure.

"If there's anything you're not comfortable with. You tell me and I'll stop. Okay, love?" Blaine murmured licking and lightly sucking down Kurt's neck, groaning as his fangs scraped against the delicate skin there.

"Oh… oh yes," Kurt moaned as they began to explore each other's bodies and clothing began to become more of an obstacle between them than either boy wanted. Soon, there was nothing between them but skin. They were both painfully aroused, but neither wanted to stop. Watching Kurt's face for any sign of discomfort, Blaine slowly and carefully began to move down his Chosen One's body, Kurt's cries becoming more frantic. When Blaine finally reached his destination, he looked up to make sure Kurt was ok with what he was about to do and saw his soon to be mate watching him with a lust filled gaze.

"Please Blaine," Kurt begged which was all the incentive Blaine needed to dip his head and bring as much pleasure as he could to the boy he loved. Kurt shuddered and moaned beneath his touch and when he finally reached his climax, it was the most beautiful Blaine had ever seen him. He pulled himself back up Kurt's body, wrapping him in the protective circle of his arms.

"Blaine," Kurt murmured blushing brightly. "I… what about… I mean you didn't…." Blaine silenced him with a kiss.

"I'm fine," he whispered. "Tonight was about you. I love you Kurt."

"I love you too Blaine," Kurt drowsily responded as the two boys fell asleep entwined in each other's embrace.


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

"The moment he entered the room, my eyes were drawn to him like a moth to the flame. He was like nothing I had ever seen, dangerous surely but as alluring as the devil himself. Tall and handsome, with hair as dark as sin and eyes which were the purest hazel… he set my heart to fluttering with the merest glance. He moved with grace and purpose, stalking me from across the room. I couldn't flee him… I didn't want to because I knew that, though I was already married to another, I would always belong to that man, The Count."

-An excerpt from the Journals of Mina Harker-Tepes

 

The two boys woke together the next morning to the sound of knocking on their door.

"Go away," Kurt mumbled snuggling closer to Blaine and feeling the rumble of laughter in his chest.

"Tired, are we?"

"Yes, and it's your fault," Kurt said kissing Blaine's bare chest as another knock more insistent this time sounded on their door. "They're not going away."

"No I suppose not. I'll go see who it is," Blaine got out of bed, grinning when he threw on the ugly flannel pajama pants again. Whistling, he went to the living room as yet another knock sounded on the door. He opened it frowning.

"This had better be an emergency, Puck. I specifically left orders…" Blaine began, trailing off when he caught sight of who was outside the door, his jaw dropping in surprise.

"Hello Blaine. Are you going to invite me in or leave an old man standing on your doorstep while you stand there gaping?"

"Grandfather! I… this is… come in," Blaine said opening the door wider and stepping aside to allow him in. "I didn't realize you were in the country, sir."

"I wasn't," the older vampire said, a hint of amusement in his faintly accented voice. "I flew in yesterday with your Uncle and David. You performed outstandingly yesterday by the way."

"You were there?" Blaine asked in surprise. Blaine's grandfather nodded sitting down on the couch and gesturing for Blaine to do so as well.

"I was, but I didn't want to come backstage. I thought perhaps you had enough on your mind yesterday," he said.

"It was… eventful," Blaine agreed.

"It seems as if there have been many eventful days for you as of late. Your father tells me that you have found your Chosen One?" Vlad questioned.

"Yes sir. I have," Blaine admitted nervously, understanding suddenly the reason for his grandfather's "impromptu" visit.

"Tell me about him. As I said, your father has told me some, but I wish to hear from you," the Count commanded. Blaine straightened, clearing his throat.

"Well… umm… his name is Kurt. He transferred to Dalton last fall after a rather nasty run in with a rogue. He's… amazing. He's strong and funny and he can flay someone alive with his words if they make him mad. He has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen and he speaks absolutely flawless French. We have so much in common. I can talk to him for hours and never be bored. He makes me happy Grandfather, and I love him," Blaine gushed. He had learned a long time ago that he could not hide from his great-grandfather, so he had stopped trying. The Count smiled at his grandson's obvious joy.

"When do I get to meet the boy who has captured your heart this way?"

"Well I…" Blaine began only to be interrupted by the sound of Kurt's voice, shortly followed by Kurt himself.

"Blaine? Who was it? Are you… oh!" Kurt said brought up short by the distinguished looking gentleman who was sitting on their couch. He was suddenly keenly aware that he was wearing Blaine's Dalton hoodie and his own pajama pants. He blushed, biting his lip in the nervous habit he had which absolutely drove Blaine wild. "I'm sorry I didn't realize you were busy. I'll just…"

"No… Kurt, wait." Blaine said rising and putting a proprietary arm around his Chosen One. "Grandfather, this is my Chosen One, Kurt Hummel. Kurt this is my grandfather, Count Vladimir Tepes."

Kurt's eyes widened in panic. He was meeting Blaine's grandfather in his pajamas the morning after he'd had some naughty, albeit very pleasurable, things done to him by the man's grandson. The universe apparently hated him. He did the only thing he could do, given the situation. He raised his chin, pretended he was wearing McQueen, and stepped forward extending his hand.

"Hello sir. It's very nice to meet you," he murmured. The older man smiled warmly at Kurt firmly grasping his hand and examining him closely.

"So you are the one who has captured my Blaine?"

"I think it was more the other way around, but yes sir," Kurt answered meeting the older vampire's gaze and freezing as he felt the aura of power which surrounded Blaine's grandfather briefly envelope him and knew that in that moment the man knew everything there was to know about him. The Count smiled, nodding in satisfaction.

"I approve Blaine. He is worthy of you and reminds me more than a little of my own strong willed Mina," he murmured. "I will even forgive you for not telling me of this yourself but making your father do so. You know in my day the family Patriarch would have been introduced to the intended one before any proposals or courtship." Blaine snorted.

"You're over six hundred years old, Grandfather. In your day people were just figuring out that the world was round and not flat," Blaine grinned. Kurt's eyes widened. The man barely looked to be in his late thirties. He knew vampires pretty much quit aging when they hit puberty and that turned vampires didn't age past the age they were when turned, but he was still shocked that the person sitting so calmly on the couch was that old.

"This is true you impudent child," Vlad said flashing his grandson a nearly identical grin. He rose then turning to Kurt and Blaine. "Unfortunately, my time for this visit is short. I have business to attend to in the city. I merely stopped by to let Blaine know that I must steal him away for a brief time, and to extend an invitation for lunch. You will join us Kurt, yes? I have not partaken of human food since my mate was taken from me."

"I'd be delighted to sir," Kurt answered smiling.

"Good. I will have my secretary chose someplace appropriate and let you know where. Blaine I shall see you at the family offices around 11:30?"

"Yes sir," Blaine answered.

"I shall see you then," the gentleman said pulling first Blaine and then, much to his surprise, Kurt into a brief embrace before letting himself out the door.

"I had no idea he was in the country." Blaine said. "He doesn't travel much anymore both because he is still mourning his mate and because, well, people expect him to be a certain way because of his reputation and that horrid fabrication that Stoker wrote."

"Wait a minute… your great grandfather, that nice man I just met, is Dracula… as in Count Dracula…Vlad the Impaler…Dracula?" Kurt asked his eyes wide with disbelief as the mention of Stoker finally caused him to put things together.

"Yeeesss," Blaine said slowly looking at his Chosen One as if he wasn't quite all there. "How did you not get that Kurt? Vladimir Tepes… my family is known as the House of Draculesti… Ring any bells?"

"I mean clearly I knew your grandfather's name and the house name, but I didn't connect them. I wasn't sure Dracula was even real,' Kurt defended himself.

"Does McKinley not teach any vampire history at all?" Blaine asked. Kurt shrugged.

"McKinley's current history teacher is sort of… insane," he said. Blaine sighed.

"Okay… we have got to get you a tutor as soon as we get home to give you a basic overview of the history of my house and the council, because, frankly, you need to know as my Chosen One. For now all you need to know is, yes he's Dracula, no… most of the stories, especially the one's written by that libelous swine Stoker, are not true, and don't be late for lunch… he can't stand it when people arrive late," Blaine said.

"Oh my God lunch! I have nothing to wear to lunch with your great grandfather Blaine!" Kurt began to worry.

"Kurt, you look amazing in anything. I think that he is already quite taken with you and you were wearing your pajamas when you met him." Blaine smiled.

"Which is exactly why I need to prepare, Blaine. We cannot have him think that is normal for me!" And with that, Kurt scurried off to the bedroom to find something to wear, leaving a chuckling Blaine to ponder exactly why Count Dracula wanted to see him later.

******

Blaine entered the family offices promptly at 11:30 as commanded by his grandfather. He was more than a little nervous about why his presence had been requested. His grandfather hadn't really had much to do with the family's business interests or the day to day running of the clan since the death of Mina Tepes during the plagues which decimated both the human population and the vampire one more than seventy years ago. The same plagues which had prompted Blaine's people to come out of the shadows and reveal their existence to the humans bringing about so much change and improvement for them all. Blaine couldn't help but find it ironic that the same plague which had stolen his grandfather's mate had, indirectly, given him his, because honestly, if the vampires and the humans didn't interact so freely would he have ever met Kurt? Casting aside his rather dark thoughts, Blaine smiled at his grandfather's long time secretary.

"Good Morning Lucy," Blaine said. "Is he in?"

"For you darling always," the secretary responded, only faint traces of her British accent remaining after all her years traveling the world in the service of Vlad and Mina Tepes. "You are the apple of his eye you know? He's quite proud of you. I hear by the way that congratulations are in order?"

"Yes ma'am." Blaine agreed his smile widening as he thought of Kurt whom he'd left at the penthouse with Nick and Jeff planning the perfect outfit to wear to lunch today.

"Well I am happy for you, child. He is a very lucky young man," the woman said.

"Believe me I am the lucky one," Blaine replied as his grandfather stuck his head out of the office he traditionally used on the rare occasions he came to New York.

"There you are Blaine. Catching up with Lucy I see," Vlad said. Blaine nodded. "Well if you are done we have much to discuss before we meet your Chosen One for lunch."

"Of course sir. It was very nice seeing you again ma'am," Blaine said politely. The beautiful blonde smiled at him, showing her fangs.

"And you as well your highness. Give your Chosen One my best," she said as Blaine followed his great-grandfather into the office, closing the door behind him.

"Sit Nepot," Vlad said gesturing to a nearby chair. Blaine smiled. It always reminded him of the year he had spent learning from his grandfather when he spoke in Romanian. "Would you like a refreshment?"

"No Bunic," Blaine answered. "I had something this morning with Kurt and we are going to be having lunch soon."

"I see you've remembered the Romanian I taught you. Have you been keeping up your other studies as well?"

"Yes sir," Blaine answered solemnly. Vlad frowned.

"Something troubles you?"

"There was... an incident the night we arrived in New York. Someone referred to Kurt as a blood bag and I… I brought him to his knees," Blaine admitted. Vlad studied him carefully.

"Oh Nepot! You must stop this. You should not feel guilty for defending your Chosen One. You are a warrior… my descendent. You will fight for what is yours. It is in your nature. Did you abuse your powers? Did the punishment not fit the crime done to your intended mate?"

"No sir," Blaine said firmly his face hardening as he thought of the way that Kurt had curled in on himself in the face of the prejudice he was facing.

"Then this is nothing. Put your mind at ease," Vlad said. "Now… on to the reason I brought you here." Blaine's grandfather opened his desk drawer and pulled out a velvet box. "Your Kurt he is special. He is strong and has been through much."

"You read him," Blaine accused frowning. Vlad chuckled.

"Of course I did, youngling. He will be your mate. He will help you to lead my people… my legacy. I had to insure he was worthy."

"Grandfather…" Blaine began only to be interrupted.

"Relax, Blaine. Your Kurt, he felt it. He knew exactly what was happening and allowed it. This is what I meant… he is special. He is much like my Mina I think. He is worthy of you… of our kingdom… of this," Vlad slid the box he'd retrieved earlier across the desk to Blaine. "These belonged to my Mina. It had been her intention for your grandmother, our Catriona, to have them someday, but she succumbed to the same death as her mother."

Blaine took the box and opened it, his eyes widening at what he saw there. Nestled amongst the blue silken interior was beautiful silver cuff bracelet engraved with the crest of the Draculesti. Alongside it lay a thick silver band which was encrusted with deep blue sapphires.

"Bunic, I can't…" Blaine murmured. Vlad reached over shutting the box.

"You can and you shall. The bracelet was a courtship gift to my mate when she was still the bride of that foolish, violent human. She believed it protected her from further harm at his hands. The ring was her mating ring. She made me promise on her deathbed that it would be passed down to the next turned mate to join our family, for she was aware of Catriona's fate . I kept them waiting for the right one to come along. I believe at last that they have. I think my Mina would have approved of your Kurt. She knew, I think, that he was waiting for you Blaine, even though she died long before you were born."

"Thank you sir this means more to me than I can ever say," Blaine said his voice full of emotion. His grandfather was extremely important to him and had, in many ways, saved him.

"You are very welcome Blaine," the older vampire said reaching to give his great grandson's hand an affectionate squeeze.

"Now… we should not leave the charming Kurt waiting should we?" Vlad said rising from his chair.

"No sir," Blaine grinned already planning the best way to present Kurt with the family heirlooms as he followed his grandfather from the office.

******

Kurt nervously checked his outfit one last time before exiting the limo at the address the Count's secretary had given him. Satisfied that he did indeed look his best, Kurt took a deep breath before exiting the car, studying the restaurant that Blaine's grandfather had chosen and finding himself quite impressed. The small café was secluded enough to be exclusive but still managed to feel warm and welcoming as he entered. Kurt gave the maître'd his name and was quickly shown to his table, which tuned out to be more of a private room. Both Blaine and his grandfather rose to greet Kurt when he entered the room.

"Kurt, lovely to see you again." Vlad gave a toothy smile to the boy in question.

"It's nice to see you again as well, sir." Kurt respectfully answered.

"You look amazing love," Blaine said, kissing Kurt's cheek as he pulled out his chair for him.

"Thank you," Kurt said blushing lightly as he sat. Vlad beamed at the simple display of affection between his grandson and his Chosen One wishing that Mina could have seen it…seen how amazing the young man who was their heir truly was. Fighting to stave off the melancholy which was his constant companion, he gestured to the waiter.

"Come, let us order lunch." Vlad said. "I'm told this restaurant boasts some delightful cuisine."

"Good afternoon and welcome to Assagio di Sangue. We have several specials today. The chef has prepared an amazing spaghetti carbonara as well as one of the best chef salads you can get in the city. Additionally we offer several blood types. Our house specialty is a delightful O positive blended with a touch of AB negative to give it a light spicy flavor" the waiter said politely as he handed them their menus before departing the table.

"So Kurt… how are you enjoying your first visit to New York?" Vlad asked as he scanned the menu.

"It's been different than I expected," Kurt admitted. "The shopping is fabulous here even if some of the people aren't."

"We've had some issues with the purists while here," Blaine said a touch of anger in his voice.

"Ahhh… yes… in every era there are those who believe themselves better," Vlad said sadly shaking his head. "I find it amusing that this particular group holds me in great esteem as the model of a true vampire because I am, not to sound immodest, the oldest, most powerful vampire to ever walk the earth, and yet… I am not, as they would recognize it, a pureblood vampire. I was born as human as you, young Kurt, even if it was a very long time ago."

"You're turned?" Kurt asked, somewhat shocked. Vlad nodded.

"I am indeed, though I was turned through my own arrogance and cruelty. It was during a fight with the Turks. I had no idea there were vampires fighting amongst them, or even that they existed. During one of the many battles I was in, I was bitten. I remember thinking how dare he. This was not how a knight should act. It was just further proof that the Turks were inferior. I beheaded him and licked my sword afterwards. He had tasted my blood. I would taste his. Thus Count Vladimir Tepes knight of the Dracul, defender of the faith became the evil Count Dracula… feared creature of the night," Blaine's grandfather said with a self-mocking smirk. Kurt tentatively placed a hand on the count's arm.

"That must have been very hard for you… to go through that alone not knowing what was going on. How did you cope?" Kurt asked. The count shrugged.

"Not well at times. I earned at least a portion of my reputation. But come… let us not speak of the past. I wish to speak of the future. Have you two set a date for your mating ceremony and Kurt's turning?" The boys were saved from answering by the return of their waiter.

"Are you gentlemen ready to order?"

"I will have the chef's salad and water with lemon." Kurt answered.

"Kurt, you surely have to eat more than that." Vlad chastised. "You're a growing boy and need to keep your strength up, especially if you're going to keep up with Blaine."

"Grandfather, Kurt prefers to eat lightly." Blaine answered, shrugging his shoulders at Kurt. "Besides we have dinner reservations tonight."

"Ah, I see." Vlad nodded. His grandson was nothing short of a chip off the old block. Blaine may be an Anderson in name, but the boy oozed the charm the Tepes family was famous for.

"And you gentlemen, what can I get for you?" The waiter quickly turned to Blaine and Count Vlad.

"I will have the house specialty." Vlad said. "I want to see if it's as good as it's talked about."

"Yes, sir. And for you?" The waiter asked Blaine.

"Please bring me the house specialty as well."

"Now that that's taken care of…" Vlad said wanting to focus on why he'd asked them to lunch. "When are you having the official ceremony?"

"Umm… we really haven't discussed it yet," Kurt murmured. Vlad clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Blaine, you know there are protocols to be followed."

"I know all about the protocols, grandfather. You and father have drilled them into my head over the years."

"You are a prince Blaine. Protocols are essential. Now, when are you having the ceremony?" Vlad pressed on with his question, studying the two young men in front of him. "The month of October is particularly lovely, you know."

"We haven't decided yet, grandfather. I know six months after meeting your Chosen One is usually expected, but we haven't made that decision yet."

"Hmm…and why is that?" Vlad inquired.

"Kurt has had a very tough last couple of months and I want both of us to be in the right place to make that decision since a ceremony is for life." Blaine answered, cut off from any further explanations when their food arrived at the table. Thank goodness for small miracles, Blaine thought to himself.

"Ah yes. This business in Lima. Why don't we talk about this?"

"Grandfather, this is not the time, nor the place." Blaine firmly said. "I would think there are other things we could be talking about." He certainly didn't want to bring up bad memories for Kurt when they were in New York and focusing on better things.

Vlad nodded slightly at his grandson. The boy had apparently inherited his protective nature as well. "All right, Blaine. We don't have to talk about that. So, Kurt, how do you like Dalton?"

"Dalton has been so amazing." Kurt couldn't help the smile that graced his face. "I've learned a lot and moved further than I thought I would with my life."

 

Vlad smiled and reached for his 'lunch' as he continued making small talk and getting to know his grandson's soon to be mate, aware that Blaine wasn't going to elaborate on any more details. His grandson was certainly playing this close to the vest and he had to respect the boy for that. It was good that Blaine was so protective of his Chosen One. Should it become an issue, he would make certain the boys were given all the time they wished before making things official. He hoped, however, they would have the ceremony sooner rather than later. He found himself truly looking forward to something for the first time in over seventy years. He was very fond of his great grandson and young Kurt was clearly perfect for him, besides mating ceremonies were always so lovely.

*****

Kurt leaned his head contentedly on Blaine's shoulder later that night as he rode up in the elevator with Blaine and Puck, who was filling his role as body guard. The night had been nothing short of amazing. First they had gone to dinner in one of the most exclusive restaurants in New York and then they'd taken a short limo ride to the Gershwin to see Wicked. Kurt was still pinching himself over what had been a magical evening. As the elevator arrived at the penthouse the boys wished Puck good night before Blaine unlocked the door motioning Kurt inside.

"Thank you so much Blaine. Tonight has been everything I thought New York would be," he smiled. Blaine wrapped an arm around Kurt kissing him gently.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it Kurt, but our evening isn't quite over yet. I have another surprise for you." Blaine said as he led Kurt to the rooftop terrace.

"Blaine, what have you done this time?" Kurt asked with anticipation.

"It's been such a busy couple of days, I thought you'd enjoy some time under the stars." Blaine said as he opened the door. There was soft romantic music coming from hidden speakers and the city lights were spread out around them.

"Blaine…" Kurt's breath caught in his throat.

"I know you wanted to go dancing our first night here, and while this isn't exactly the club scene, I thought maybe it might be an acceptable alternative." Blaine said, wrapping his arms around Kurt and leading him to the 'dance' floor.

"Acceptable alternative? Blaine this is… I'm speechless. This is beautiful and romantic and god Blaine, you take my breath away. I love you," Kurt said huskily.

"I love you too," Blaine responded, pulling Kurt into his arms and beginning to sway in time to the music. The two danced for what seemed like hours under the stars. It was everything that Kurt had ever wanted out of a romance. This was romance on a Disney happily ever after fairytale scale and Kurt's whole body thrummed with happiness and love for the man in whose arms he danced.

"We should get to bed." Blaine glanced at his watch, realizing that it was almost midnight. "It's late."

"Blaine, I don't turn into Cinderella at midnight, you know." Kurt laughed. "Besides, I'm not tired."

"I didn't necessarily say we were sleeping, Kurt." Blaine murmured, leaning down to capture Kurt's lips in a sweet, but passionate kiss as he swept his Chosen One up into his arms and carried him to their room.

******

Kurt woke slowly, yawning and stretching, his hand instinctively reaching out for Blaine, only to realize he was in bed alone. He sat up frowning until his eyes lit upon Blaine who was entering the room carrying a tray laden with fresh fruit and bagels.

"Good morning beautiful," Blaine said smiling as he set the tray down and captured Kurt's lips in a sweet gentle kiss.

"Good morning to you too," Kurt said blushing as he remembered the way he and Blaine had lain in bed last night, kissing and touching… never going farther than Kurt was comfortable with, but still reaching moments of complete ecstasy.

"Eat up love. We need to get going soon," Blaine urged as he placed the tray over Kurt's lap.

"Going? Where are we going?"

"We are playing tourist today." Blaine announced.

"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked, nibbling a plump, juicy strawberry.

"I know this trip was all about Nationals, but since we won…I thought you might like a day in the city doing all the touristy type things." Blaine said.

"Blaine you come to New York all the time. Surely there are other things you'd rather do?" Kurt asked. Blaine shook his head

"Than spending the day with you watching you live out your dream? Nope, not one," Blaine said.

"You'd really do that for me?" Kurt was astounded by his boyfriend every day.

"Of course I would. You are my Chosen One." Blaine kissed Kurt hard on the mouth. "Where would you like to go today?"

"I really didn't plan to have much time to explore the city, Blaine." Kurt answered.

"Well, now you do, so what would you like to see? We have the limo at our disposal and no one will be joining us today, not even Puck." Blaine firmly stated. He wanted no interruptions as he showed his boyfriend the city.

"I…I don't know."

"How about seeing the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building and Time's Square?" Blaine suggested.

"That sounds amazing could we maybe have a picnic in Central Park too?" Kurt asked.

"I'll order a picnic basket. Now get dressed and we will be off." Blaine smiled.

******

Their last day in New York was one that Kurt knew he would never forget. True to his word, Blaine had taken Kurt to every touristy destination in the city. They saw Radio City, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square. Kurt had marveled at the majesty of the Statue of Liberty, and even gotten a little misty eyed as he thought of his great grandparents coming through Ellis Island as frightened immigrants who hadn't spoken a word of English. Kurt had snapped picture after picture. His favorite one being the one they had gotten a hot dog vendor to take of them together in Central Park. It had been a magical day, one he hated to see end, he reflected as he stood at the top of the Empire State building watching the sun set with Blaine's arms wrapped firmly around him.

"Penny for your thoughts," Blaine huskily whispered in his ear. Kurt shook his head.

"Today has been perfect. I can't think of anything I could have changed which would have made it better," Kurt replied. Blaine pulled away turning his Chosen One to face him.

"Perhaps I can," he murmured pulling a velvet box from his jacket pocket. "Yesterday when I met with Grandfather, he gave me this. It belonged to Grandmother Mina. It was his first gift to her. She was still married to her first husband, a rather awful little man who was frequently cruel to her. She believed it protected her from him." Blaine opened the box revealing the beautiful silver cuff. Kurt gasped, reaching out his hand and then pulling it back.

"Blaine I can't. It's too precious… it's a family heirloom and I'm not…"

"Kurt, don't say you aren't family. You are. You're my life. You'll soon be my mate. Wearing this will let the world know that you are mine and I am yours.

"Blaine…" Kurt was in shock.

"Please say you'll wear my family crest with pride." Blaine looked into Kurt's warm eyes. "It will one day be your family crest as well."

"Of course I want to wear it, Blaine, but are you sure?"

"I have never been so sure of anything in my life, Kurt. May I?" Blaine held his wrist gently.

"Please." Kurt watched as Blaine slid the pretty silver cuff bracelet with the crest onto his wrist. Kurt looked at it in delight. "Thank you Blaine. It's beautiful." He said pulling Blaine to him and kissing him, not really caring who was watching.

"As much as I like this," Blaine murmured reluctantly pulling away. "We do have dinner reservations, if you're ready."

"Mmm.. I suppose. Lead on sweet prince." Kurt said casting one last look out over the city before following Blaine to the door which led back inside.

 

Later that night Kurt found himself once more out under the stars dancing in Blaine's arms on their private terrace. He was tired, but he couldn't bring himself to let this day end.

"You're going to be exhausted tomorrow, love." Blaine said as he looked at the clock that said two in the morning and saw the faint shadows under Kurt's eyes.

"It will be a good exhausted, Blaine. This is our last night in New York and I don't want to forget it." Kurt smiled as he danced across the terrace.

"I won't let you, sweetheart. I will never forget how wonderful this trip has been and how much we've gotten to share," Blaine responded as he pulled Kurt in for one more dance.


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

"Turnings occur for a variety of reasons. The three most common types of turnings are: accidental, wherein a human is turned through some sort of unexpected and unintentional series of events, compassionate, wherein a human is turned by a vampire in order to save them from imminent death, and finally a mate-bond turning wherein a human is turned by a vampire who has chosen them as a mate. It is the final type, the mate-bond turning, which is both the most common and, in general, the easiest for the human involved because it is something which is being embraced, rather than forced upon them."

-An excerpt from "The Turned" by Dr. Fredrick Duvall

 

Blaine watched his soon to be mate as he sat beside him in the terminal waiting for their pilot to let them know the jet was ready. Kurt sighed, a distinctly melancholy look on his face.

"Why so sad?" Blaine asked as Kurt stared out the window at the plane that was being loaded with their luggage and bags of souvenirs. That was, he reflected wryly, one nice thing about a private plane, you didn't have to pay the outrageous baggage fees of the major carriers.

"I don't want to go home to Ohio. I don't want to go back to Finn and the people from McKinley telling me I am wrong. Do you know how nice it was to not have to worry about them showing up?" Kurt asked.

"I can only imagine, but remember New York has its issues too." Blaine hugged his boyfriend tightly. "And don't forget you have us and we will help you deal with those gnats from McKinley."

"Thank you." Kurt rested his head on Blaine's shoulder. He tried to stifle the yawn, but it came out anyway, causing Blaine to be concerned. He knew that Kurt was just running on adrenaline right now because they had never actually made it to sleep. Blaine suspected that the minute he let himself relax his boyfriend would completely collapse.

"Why don't you get some rest? I know you're tired, love." Blaine suggested. "I can carry you on the plane if you fall asleep."

"You don't have to do that, Blaine. Just wake me up when we're ready to get on." Kurt closed his eyes and was out like a light. Blaine smiled to himself as he pulled Kurt onto his lap. He had no plans to wake the sleeping boy until they were landing back in Lima.

"How is he?" Wes asked as he sat down next to Blaine.

"Tired. It's been an exhausting week for him and we didn't sleep at all last night," Blaine said quietly so he didn't disturb Kurt.

"Oh?" Wes smirked.

"Not like that perv. He didn't want to sleep last night because it was his last night in the city. Despite everything, he loves it here. I will have to bring him back here someday soon." Blaine answered, gently lifting Kurt into his arms and carrying him onto the plane. The other boy never stirring as Blaine tucked a blanket around him.

Wes laughed heartily. "I suppose we should have expected that response from Kurt. He never lets it get him discouraged."

"No, he doesn't." Blaine smiled down on his Chosen One with pride. It really filled him with a warmth he'd never experienced before.

*****

Hummel Home…

"Welcome home son! How was your trip?" Burt asked as Kurt hugged his father. As wonderful as New York had been, aside from the few instances of prejudice he'd faced, he was happy to be home. He'd missed his dad and couldn't wait to tell him all about his trip.

"Amazing Dad. Everything was just… amazing. I went shopping in the fashion district with Nick and Jeff. Blaine took me to see Wicked and we went to Radio City and the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty," Kurt couldn't hide his excitement as he talked about the city and all of the places he'd gotten to see with his friends and Blaine. "Blaine has promised we'll go back again someday."

"That's great bud! I'm glad you had a good time," Burt said, smiling at his son. Kurt regaled his father with stories of New York and of meeting Blaine's grandfather. Burt listened with pride, thrilled to see Kurt so happy. As soon as Burt left the room to use the bathroom, however, Carole, who had been sitting nearby listening, struck with her usual venom.

"Really?" Carole sneered. "You went to New York and won Nationals, big flipping deal. Now, you're just rubbing it in poor Finn's face. Kurt, you of all people, should know how much it mattered to Finn and New Directions to win and go there. It's just sad that you are only thinking of yourself anymore."

"Excuse me?" Kurt stuttered, reeling from Carole's aggressive attitude and tone.

"You heard me. You are getting everything handed to you without having to work for anything." Carole hissed. "You got a fancy private school education that should have been Finn's, at least he has a chance at a decent future. It's just like you to only think about yourself. Do you really think anyone cares about what you want or what your future is? No. You don't deserve to be happy."

Kurt was nearly growling in frustration. He knew his happiness couldn't last once he was home in Lima. It was just so painful to be facing this level of hate in his own home where he should have been able to feel safe and loved. He was still exhausted from the night before, even with sleeping on the plane and sleeping in the car on the way home. In the state he was in, this was almost more than he could take.

"You always ruin things for everyone else, Kurt." Carole hissed. "You've ruined Finn's chance at a good education, you've ruined my chance at having a normal life with a normal family, and you've ruined any chance your father will ever have at happiness because of who you are and the stories that will always follow us. Why should you get to leave when we're all stuck here with you tainting us for the rest of our lives?"

"I see," Kurt softly said as he stood up from the table, grabbed his bag that was still by the front door, and nodded to the guards standing just outside it whom Blaine had insisted accompany him. "Please get my bags. I'm going home."

"Kurt, this is your home." Burt said stricken. The look on his face was heartbreaking. He had entered the room only in time to hear Kurt's side of the conversation and was clearly unaware of what had prompted his son's statement, but Kurt was too distraught and exhausted to explain things to his dad.

He could only shake his head sadly at his father, willing him to understand. "No, it's not. It hasn't been for a while." He murmured, shutting the door firmly behind him.

*****

Blaine was studying when Kurt silently slipped inside. He took one look at his boyfriend and knew something was wrong.

"Kurt, are you okay? What happened? Who do I need to kill?" Blaine asked and was shocked when Kurt flung himself into his arms and just sobbed. All he could do was rub Kurt's back, trying to offer comfort. After what seemed like hours to Blaine, Kurt finally cried himself out and into what seemed to be a peaceful sleep, at least for the moment.

Wes gently opened the door and motioned for Blaine to step outside leading him down the hall to his room. "What is wrong with Kurt? Everyone heard him crying like that."

"I'm not sure I should share it." Blaine was conflicted.

"Do you remember what happened the last time, Blaine? Do I need to talk to the Headmaster again?"

"No, Wesley." Blaine sighed. "Kurt went home and was telling his family about New York and Carole unleashed all of her hate on him, saying Kurt was the reason why they couldn't have normal lives and how much he always ruins things for everyone else."

"Damn." Even Wes hadn't been expecting that. "Why didn't he call one of us?"

"He didn't call anyone because he wasn't sure that he could talk about what happened without breaking down." Blaine answered. "He told me that he came straight here instead because all he could think was that he needed to get home. How can his own family do this to him?" Blaine ran his hands through his hair in agitation.

"Blaine, you know that you're going to have to do something about that woman and her son sooner or later. He's your Chosen One. You can't let him be treated that way." Wes pointed out.

"Oh, believe me. I'm aware. It's taking everything I have not to go to Lima and tear the woman limb from limb, but that would only make things harder on Kurt right now. I am reaching the end of my patience with them however," Blaine said reaching into Wes' mini fridge and getting a bottle out and taking a long drink.

"So what are you going to do?" Wes asked.

"What can I do? Be there for him… make sure he knows that he is loved and special. We will get him through this rough patch. It's just important for him to know that Dalton is his safe place and he has friends here."

******

The next few days were rough for Kurt, the only real bright spot was the discovery that Mike, like Puck, had transferred back to Dalton since he and Tina had decided that they could not tolerate some of the people at McKinley any longer. Kurt hadn't been pleased that everyone heard him crying and upset about the fight, but they all let him know they were there for him if he needed to talk or be distracted for a few hours. Blaine, of course, was his rock. Blaine didn't care if he yelled or cried or simply wanted to be cuddled. Kurt was reminded, yet again, that these people were his family too…as much as he loved his dad; he now had another family… one that wouldn't let him down.

"I know I mentioned getting you a tutor so you're up to speed on my family's history." Blaine remarked. "Nick's father, Dr. Duvall, has agreed to do it."

"I had assumed it would either be you or Puck getting me up to speed on the history. Why did you choose Nick's father?"

"Because I would be too distracted with your beauty to teach you." Blaine grinned.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Blaine." Kurt smiled. "When do we start?"

"Today, if you want. Dr. Duvall has agreed to come twice a week for two hours for a couple of weeks and by then, you should know the basics of the family history."

"Sounds like a good idea, Blaine."

 

******

Kurt sat in the Common Room as the boys were watching a movie, trying to answer his 'homework' questions about the House of Draculesti that were from Dr. Duvall.

"So, do you want to help me with my homework on your family?" Kurt slyly asked as he looked at his notebook.

"No, Kurt, you need to learn this yourself." Blaine laughed. He'd assumed Kurt would try to get him to help and as much as he wanted to, he would refrain because Kurt needed to find out the answers on his own.

"Fine. I'll just go get that Bram Stoker book for answers." Kurt snapped playfully at his boyfriend, knowing it would get him riled up.

"Don't you dare!" Blaine hissed.

"You have no idea how many problems that little book caused." Jeff spoke up.

"Oh?" Kurt had been fascinated with all he had learned so far from Dr. Duvall. He was enthralled with the stories that he'd never heard before. McKinley's vampire education was severely lacking, in that there was no education class because the instructor refused to teach the underlings and Principal Figgins had just gone along with it. Dalton didn't really have a class either because the vampires attending school already knew the stories and histories from their own families.

Nick replied. "According to my father, Stoker was a friend of Jonathon Harker, Mina Tepes' first husband. He had just enough knowledge of us to be dangerous and he chose to use that knowledge against us."

"You've met my grandfather, Kurt. Do you really think he's sleeping in a coffin with dirt?" Blaine asked.

"Not particularly." Kurt said dryly. "So what happened to Stoker when the book came out?"

"My grandfather wanted to track him down and drain him in the street, but the family was able to talk him down from doing anything stupid. As the book gained fame and popularity, the family wished they'd given Grandfather free reign, but life's a bitch and Stoker got his in the end."

"How?" Kurt asked, intrigued.

"He liked the ladies and one of them gave him syphilis. That's what he died from, along with multiple strokes."

"Ouch."

"Like I said, life's a bitch." Blaine smirked.

"So, are you going to help me with my homework then?" Kurt asked.

"I'll make you forget about your homework." Blaine winked.

"Take it to your room, boys." Nick catcalled as Blaine advanced on Kurt and whisked him off towards the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Blaine asked as he noticed Kurt reading from a very old looking book.

"I found this book on the House of Draculesti in the library and since you won't help me with my homework, I figured this might." Kurt replied before looking up at Blaine. "Is it true that's your grandfather owns a mansion in England?"

"I think so. He owns mansions all over the world, as well as a huge castle in Romania, but he can't live there."

"Why?"

"That stupid book outed its location and it's become a tourist trap for that part of the world, so it's not safe for him or any of us there." Blaine answered.

"Then where does he live?"

"He chooses to maintain a nomadic lifestyle of sorts since he travels so much, but there are a few penthouses all over the world that the family uses." Blaine said.

"I never knew vampire history was so interesting." Kurt answered.

"We try to keep it interesting for the peasants." Blaine chuckled. Kurt couldn't help but laugh alongside his mate.

******

Kurt tiredly entered his and Blaine's room, yawning and stretching after a rather intense study session with Nick. Blaine had gone home the night before to discuss their trip to New York with his father. Apparently the parents of the boys whom Puck had hunted took issue with the punishment he had dealt out and now Nathaniel was having to deal with the fallout. Even though Blaine had only been gone for a day, Kurt missed him terribly and couldn't help but think about how he wished Blaine was there right now to hold him and kiss him. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it from his shoulders throwing it in the hamper as his hands moved to the belt of his pants.

"Kurt." Blaine's voice came out husky and low in the dark of the room. Kurt jumped back and put a hand on his chest, unconsciously trying to calm himself down.

"Blaine! What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow night."

"We finished early so I came back because I missed you. Are you not glad to see me?"

"I'm always glad to see you, Blaine. Why were you sitting here in the dark though?"

"I was trying to sleep, but I'm sort of glad I couldn't because I was rather enjoying the show. I don't suppose I could get you to finish could I?"

"Blaine!"

"What? You're hot and sexy and mine. Can you blame me for wanting to see all of you?" Blaine's voice was deep with lust.

"Blaine…I…um…don't know what to say." Kurt stuttered.

"I'm not pushing here, Kurt. If you'd feel more comfortable changing in that bathroom, that's okay, too. I just… Oh Jesus Kurt!" Blaine gasped as Kurt slowly pulled off his belt and unfastened his skinny jeans shimmying out of them. Kurt advanced on Blaine who was sitting half propped in the bed.

"You know Blaine, you never did let me return the favor from that night in New York," Kurt said looking up at Blaine through his eyelashes in what was possibly the hottest thing Blaine had ever seen.

"I… you know why Kurt. I can't do that with you without needing to bite you and you… you're not… Kuurt… I am not going to be responsible for myself if you keep doing that," Blaine panted as Kurt began to nibble and suck on Blaine's neck.

"What if you had something else to bite?" Kurt whispered against Blaine's neck.

"I… um… I suppose… that… damn Kurt… that might work," Blaine stuttered as Kurt slowly began to move down his body. Kurt moved away from him for a moment returning with a smirk and showing Blaine the belt he'd just removed.

"Normally I would never potentially damage such a versatile accessory, but this is soooo worth it. Open your mouth for me baby," Kurt said doubling up the belt and putting it in Blaine's mouth. "You can bite that to your heart's content love. I, on the other hand, intend to put something else in my mouth tonight."

"Holy mother of God Kurt! Do you have any idea what you do to me when you say things like that?" Blaine murmured after removing the belt form his mouth.

"Hrmm… well they say actions speak louder than words Blaine," Kurt said impishly as he moved back down his prince's body. Blaine felt his eyes roll back in his head as he put the belt back in his mouth sinking his fangs deeply into the leather unable to form any more coherent thoughts for a very long time.

******

As the weeks passed and spring came into full bloom, Kurt and Blaine continued to become closer, both emotionally and physically. They hadn't taken that final step because Kurt wasn't ready and neither of them wanted to completely join their bodies until Kurt was comfortable allowing Blaine to bite him. As they grew closer, however, it occurred to Kurt that he had neglected to introduce Blaine to one of the most important people in his life. Thus he was now on a hunt to find his boyfriend. After a quick search, he finally found the other boy in the butterfly gardens. It was a place that they both enjoyed on a regular basis.

"Hi beautiful," Blaine greeted looking up from the book he was studying for his lit class next hour.

"Hey yourself," Kurt grinned, pecking Blaine quickly on the lips.

"What's up? I thought you and Jeff were working on that project for art history?"

"We were," Kurt said. "But we finished and there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Blaine said frowning in concern. "Is everything ok?" Kurt nodded

"Everything is fine. I was just wondering if you were busy after classes today." Kurt asked.

"No, why?" Blaine was curious as to why his boyfriend had sought him out.

"There's someplace I want to take you," Kurt said. Blaine arched an eyebrow.

"Is this a surprise?"

"Sort of… I just… it's kind of hard for me to talk about. It'd be easier to just show you," Kurt said.

"What time do you want to leave?" Blaine said simply.

****

Blaine was a little shocked when Kurt pulled into the cemetery. He had a feeling he was about to meet a guiding force in his boyfriend's life. Wordlessly, Kurt got out of the car and led Blaine through the white stones stopping at a well-tended one. Blaine's eyes scanned the name on the stone and he took Kurt's hand squeezing it. Kurt cleared his throat and Blaine could tell he was holding back tears.

"She died when I was eight. It was a car wreck. She was on her way home from work and it was raining really hard. The semi driver didn't see her car. They said she died instantly," he choked out.

"It must be so hard to lose someone you love, especially in such a permanent way." Blaine quietly said

"It was so painful that I thought I would never love anyone again." Kurt murmured kneeling and gently brushing off the debris and laying his bouquet of flowers on the top of the gravestone. "I still miss her."

Kurt felt the tears trickle down his face. He'd never brought anyone here before; not friends, no one, but Blaine was so much more that he wanted to share this part of his life with Blaine. Kurt felt strong arms lifting him up and wrapping around him offering silent support and he clung to them, grateful to have his boyfriend here to comfort him.

Neither boy spoke until they were walking back to the car. It was Blaine who broke the silence.

"I can't imagine how hard that was. I was so little when my Mom died that I've never had to deal with it the way you have. I've missed having her in my life, but I barely remember her so it's hard for me to miss her the way you do your Mom."

"You don't remember her at all?" Kurt asked, shocked.

"She laughed a lot and she used to run her fingers through my hair when I was falling asleep. Little things… that's all I have of her because I was only three when she was killed," Blaine said softly. Kurt put a hand on his arm his eyes soft and compassionate.

"What happened?" he asked. Blaine took a deep breath looking away.

"We were in Italy visiting family there. She and my brother Cooper, who was twelve, and I had been out sight-seeing. Mother hated having to take guards with her everywhere we went so she insisted that we be allowed to go to the marketplace alone like normal people. My family has enemies… in this case it was a group of rogues whom my father had disciplined a few days before. They had us surrounded before mother even knew what was going on. She fought but… there were just too many. I remember her screaming at Cooper and me to run. I was so little though. They caught us not far from where were staying. Cooper tried to protect me, but he was no match for them. Father must have heard our screams because suddenly he was there with Great-Grandfather and Uncle Duncan. The rogues fled. I was mostly untouched, but it was too late for my mother and Cooper. They had torn them to shreds."

"Oh my God Blaine!" Kurt said horrified. "You were so little… just a baby…and to have survived that…How have you managed?"

"I really don't remember much of the attack," Blaine said giving Kurt a sad smile. "I had nightmares about it for a long time though. I barely remember Mom or Cooper either. Dad seems to think I've blocked it out because if I remember the good things, the bad will come with it. Most of what I know has come from Uncle Duncan or the staff in New Orleans where she grew up. It was just too painful for Dad to talk about I think. I mean, my father tried, but he was busy with the Council and there was just so much to do that he didn't have enough hours in the day. There were many nannies during those years and then I was sent to live with Great Grandfather after what I did to the rogue."

"She must have loved you very much to have fought so hard to protect you." Kurt said. "Your father loves you too. You can see it in his eyes when he looks at you."

"I know. I just want you to know you are special, Kurt, and I don't want to lose you like that." Blaine couldn't bear the thought that his chosen one could die at any moment.

"Blaine, what are you saying?" Kurt stared at Blaine with wide eyes.

"My mother was a vampire Kurt. We're a lot harder to kill than humans. Aside from being torn limb from limb or something like The Plague, we're pretty much indestructible, in fact. I can't lose you, but as long as you're still human. It's a fear I have to deal with."

"I… I don't know what to say. What do you want from me?"

"Kurt, this is a choice you need to make. There's no pressure and I'm not rushing you, but I want to know how you're feeling about all this." Blaine said.

"Blaine, I love you and I want you to know this isn't something I take lightly, but I'm not ready to be turned yet." Blaine sighed nodding.

"Ok… why? Is it something I can help you deal with?" Blaine just wanted to know what his beloved was thinking.

"It's my dad." Kurt finally admitted out loud.

"Okay…"

"I don't want to leave him alone right now because of the Carole and Finn situation. He has already dealt with so much and I don't want to add any more stress onto his plate if I am gone for an extended period of time. It just wouldn't be fair to him. He's my only parent and I can't bear to do that to him right now."

"I understand, Kurt, I really do. I am not about to pressure you into making a decision yet until everything is settled down." Blaine tugged Kurt close to him and gave his Chosen One a kiss on the head. "I've waited a long time to find you and it's not a problem for me to wait a little longer. I just wanted you to understand where I was coming from."

"Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it was hard for you." Kurt said clinging to Blaine. "And thank you for understanding that while I want to be with you and be turned, I'm not ready just yet. I will be ready one day soon though, Blaine. I promise you that."

"God, I love you so much, Kurt. More than I thought I could ever love someone." Blaine said, pulling Kurt to him and holding him as if he would never let go. "Promise me you won't ever leave me."

"I promise Blaine Anderson that I will never ever say good-bye to you."


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

"There are several steps in the mating process between a vampire and their chosen one. A vampire must first declare their intent to the potential mate and secure their agreement. Next, after a suitable courtship period, a more formal agreement is reached during which a time is set for the mating ceremony and, if necessary, a turning to occur. Finally, the actual mating ceremony is held after which the actual physical mating occurs and the Chosen One becomes the mate."

-an excerpt from "Vampire Mating Rituals: Vampire Love from a Human Perspective" by Emma Pillsbury PhD

 

Several weeks had gone by with Kurt staying at Dalton for the weekends instead of going home. Each Friday, his father had promised to come to Westerville to go to dinner, but each time Burt had cancelled with little to no warning. Each time Kurt had grown more hurt, and Blaine angrier with Kurt's family. Blaine sincerely hoped that Burt Hummel got his head out of his ass soon, before he had to take steps he knew Kurt would be displeased with.

 

Kurt was beaming as he walked into the Italian restaurant. His father had managed to read a review online and suggested it to his son. It would be their first Friday night dinner in quite some time. Kurt had come to the realization that, while he was perfectly content to never see Finn or Carole again, he did miss his father, even with Blaine and all his friends around to cheer him up. It would be good to have some father-son bonding time alone. Kurt couldn't wait to share details of what was happening in his life with his father. Burt had always been his biggest supporter and his anchor when times got rough, now that things were so amazing for him, he couldn't wait to share his happiness. He was quickly seated at a table and waited for his father to show up.

When fifteen minutes late had turned into an hour and Kurt couldn't get an answer on his father's cellphone, he bravely dialed the house number and Carole answered.

"Hello?" Carole's cheerful voice answered.

Kurt took a deep breath before answering. "Carole, it's Kurt. Is my father there?"

"Of course he's here. It's Friday family dinner night. Where else would he be?" Carole taunted.

"May I speak with him?" Kurt asked, trying very hard not to demand to speak to his father or let the tears he was fighting show in his voice.

"No. He's watching the game with Finn right now. I really would hate to interrupt their father-son time." Carole cooed as sweetly as she could. "It's been a hard week at the garage for your father. He needs the time to relax."

"Oh. I see. I guess I'll just call and talk to him tomorrow." Kurt replied softly.

"I wouldn't bother, Kurt. Your father's been so busy at the garage I'm sure he won't have time to talk to you." Carole snorted on the other end of the phone.

"I hadn't realized business was so good." Kurt frowned, feeling left out and missing his father.

"Oh, it's improved quite a bit since he hasn't had to deal with the stigma attached to you any longer." Carole snorted. "You know it's almost as if you never existed. I'm sorry sweetie, but I really have to go. I need to take care of my family. Bye-bye."

Kurt didn't even bother to finish dinner. He blindly threw down enough cash to cover his soda and appetizers that he'd consumed while waiting for his father to show up. He had no idea how he managed to get from the restaurant back to Dalton and into his room.

*******

Blaine was idly reading a book, waiting for Kurt to get back from his dinner. One look was all it took for him to know things had not gone well.

"Oh, darling. Come here." Blaine held his arms open and Kurt threw himself into them, sobbing.

Gradually, the sobbing halted and Blaine was able to talk to Kurt about what had happened.

"What hurts the most…" Kurt said, his voice hoarse from crying. "Is that Friday night dinners were a tradition started by my mom. It's like he's not only forgotten me, he's forgotten her."

Blaine was at a loss for words. He had no idea how to fix this for his Chosen One. He wasn't even sure this could be fixed, apart from going to Lima and ripping Burt Hummel's face off, although he was pretty sure Kurt would frown on that. "Kurt…"

"I'm such an idiot. I've put my life… our life on hold to be there for my Dad when he clearly could care less whether I'm in his life or not."

"Oh sweetie. Your dad loves you," Blaine said rubbing his back.

"He loves me so much that he couldn't be bothered to come see me," Kurt said bitterly.

"I'm sure there's more to this than we know. He does love you though Kurt. Hold on to that ok?" Blaine said, wrapping his arms around the boy he loved and doing his best to protect him from the pain life continued to inflict on him.

******

Kurt spent the weekend almost as if he was grieving for the loss of his family. He kept flipping through the scrapbook he'd created, sharing stories with Blaine or whomever was in the room with him. None of his friends had wanted him to be alone. It was nice to have people around that honestly wanted to spend time with him.

Once all of Kurt's friends heard the story of that Friday night dinner, they came up with a plan. They were determined to make sure Kurt knew how much he was loved and needed. They didn't want him dwelling on it over the weekends.

Nick invited Kurt to go shopping with him, which Kurt gladly took him up on. Kurt didn't even think about missing a Friday night dinner until he got back to the dorm and realized what day it was. He smiled as he thought of Nick's constant commentary to keep him entertained. The following Friday it was his boyfriend providing the distraction.

"Where are we going, Blaine?" Kurt said.

"I got very exclusive reservations at this little place I think you'll enjoy." Blaine opened the door to the terrace that had been decorated like an Italian Bistro.

"Mr. Anderson, Mr. Hummel, welcome to our establishment." Jeff tipped the jaunty beret he was wearing at them with a smile. "Please allow me to show you to the best table in the place."

"This should be interesting." Kurt remarked as he followed Jeff to their table, the only table in the place. "Aren't berets French?"

"He insisted." Blaine shrugged, following Jeff.

"Only the finest for our prince and his Chosen One," Jeff smirked. "Our special tonight is a succulent veal parmesan with a side of fettuccini alfredo accompanied by a fresh green salad and our special garlic bread sticks. Tonight we also have, for your entertainment, a local group trying to make their name. Any requests?"

"Something soft and romantic," Blaine murmured, kissing Kurt's hand lightly. "I think that we will take two of the specials tonight… if that's ok with you love?"

"That's sounds amazing," Kurt smiled.

"They will be prepared fresh for you." Jeff teased, winking at Kurt.

"I see you pulled out all the stops tonight." Kurt laughed. "Thank you for doing this, Blaine. It means a lot to me."

"I would do anything to make you happy, Kurt."

"I know." Kurt said simply.

"Here are you appetizers." Jeff slipped the plates onto the table. "As you eat, please enjoy the award winning song stylings of The Dalton Academy Warblers. They will be singing your favorite love songs all evening. Feel free to get up and dance. In fact, we encourage you to dance to your heart's content." Jeff smiled and signaled to the group as they began to sing.

After finishing his appetizer, Kurt glanced at Blaine. "Can we dance?"

"Of course." Blaine took Kurt's hand and led him to the 'dance' floor. Kurt was sure that he had lost track of time as they spun around the 'dance floor' to all of his and Blaine's favorite love songs. "We should return to our table. I'm sure dinner will be there waiting on us."

True to Blaine's words, the food was still hot when they arrived back at their table. Both boys dug in with gusto. Kurt smiled as he set his fork on the empty plate, having thoroughly enjoyed every bite of dinner.

"Care for another dance?" Blaine asked.

"Of course I would love to dance again." Kurt conceded as Blaine led him back onto the dance floor as the Warblers started singing another beautiful song.

"May I have this dance?" Jeff asked, holding out a hand to Kurt and stepping closer.

"No. He's mine." Blaine growled, wrapping his arms tighter around Kurt.

"It's one dance." Jeff teased with a smirk.

"Do not make me talk to your manager and have you fired." Blaine playfully threatened. "Nick!"

Nick bustled out to the terrace took one look at his boyfriend and rolled his eyes. "Come on, Jeffery. Let's leave the lovers alone."

"But…but…but…." Jeff's voice trailed off as he was pulled in the door and it was shut firmly behind him.

"Blaine, don't be so rude to the boys. They did all of this for us." Kurt smiled because no one else had ever done something this special for him. It meant a lot to him.

"Jeff knows I was teasing Kurt… mostly anyway. As beautiful as this has been... I think that we should take this up to our room," Blaine suggested as the candles burned down to nothing.

"I think that would be a good idea." Kurt nodded and blew out the rest of the still burning candles.

Nick, Jeff, Puck, Mike, and Wes watched as Kurt and Blaine slipped quietly away, all wearing matching smiles.

******

"I know your birthday is on Friday, Kurt and if you want to do something, call me. You only turn seventeen once."

Kurt grimaced as he listened to the message his father had left. He refused to call his father back because he knew in his heart that Burt would just be another no show and he refused to let that happen this year. He remembered back to other years when his father would splurge and take him out to either a nice lunch or dinner and then a small family party and gifts. This year, he actually had someone to help celebrate with him and that really was icing on the cake.

"Happy freaking birthday to me this year." Kurt deleted the message and then proceeded to turn his phone completely off. He tucked it in his bag and stalked off, completely unaware of Jeff standing nearby.

*****

Jeff stormed into the Warbler Common Room where he knew Blaine, Wes, and Nick were studying. "We have a problem. You're not going to believe what I overheard. Kurt's family is just… They're unbelievable!"

Blaine whipped his head up. "What happened? Is he okay? Where is he?"

"He's in class and I wouldn't exactly call him okay, but he's not physically hurt."

"Then what the hell is going on?" Nick demanded to know.

"You know Kurt's birthday is Friday, right?"

"Of course I do. Why?" Blaine asked.

"His father called and left him a voice mail about if he wanted to do something for Kurt to call him. We all know Kurt's father isn't exactly reliable when it comes to things like that. Kurt didn't even call him back and deleted the message. I saw how disappointed he looked when he listened to that call."

"Are you serious?" Wes asked. "So, they're doing nothing to celebrate Kurt's birthday?"

"Not one little thing." Jeff snorted. "We have to do something for him. It's not right that Kurt's day isn't even acknowledged."

"Do you think he wants a party?" Nick asked. "I mean, he wants to be with his family or at least his father."

"We are his family now and it's up to us to make sure he has an amazing birthday party." Blaine said. "I have a few calls to make. Get started on the planning and let me know."

*****

Friday had the potential of being a great day. The sun was shining, but Kurt didn't feel any of the happiness a sunny day should bring him. Despite the fact that it was his birthday, he was rather depressed. His father had left a couple of messages saying if he changed his mind about dinner to call him and let him know.

Kurt was studying in his dorm room when Blaine walked in, a smile on his face.

"Why are you so happy?" Kurt snarled.

"Can you come with me for a walk?"

"Blaine…"

"Please?" Blaine used his puppy dog eyes on Kurt.

"Fine," Kurt huffily agreed. Kurt knew it was easier to agree now instead of listening to Blaine whine at him and beg him to go.

"Thank you. You won't regret it, Kurt." Blaine smiled widely again.

When they reached the door of the Common Room, Kurt turned to Blaine. "I thought we were going on a walk."

"We are. I just need to grab the jacket I left in here earlier." Blaine pushed open the door and shoved Kurt gently in front of him.

"Surprise!" The chorus of Warbler voices shouted.

Kurt was taken aback and looked at Blaine. "What in the world? What's going on here?"

"Do you think we would really let your birthday go by without acknowledging it?" Wes asked.

"No, but I didn't think you would do this." Kurt admitted. "I thought maybe a present, but this?"

"We just wanted to make sure you knew you had people who loved you and wanted to celebrate the day you were born." Blaine lovingly said. "Now, do you want to start with cake or presents?"

"I suppose we should probably start with presents since I know some of you boys have weekend plans." Kurt said.

The pile of presents was astounding to Kurt. There were many gift cards to Westerville establishments. Blaine's father had sent a gift of a very expensive Marc Jacobs jacket and the Count had sent Kurt some cologne from Paris which he'd had designed just for him. He was overwhelmed with everyone's generosity. He could have never hoped for friends like these. Blaine had even managed to find a gorgeous pearl pin that gleamed in the light. He was going to wear it with everything.

Before the cake, Blaine pulled Kurt aside for a moment. "We need to talk."

"Okay..." Kurt nodded feeling a flutter of apprehension in his chest as Blaine guided them out to the terrace. "Is everything ok? Oh my God! You're breaking up with me… on my birthday!"

"What? No Kurt! No… it's just the opposite actually. I didn't want to do this without your family's permission, but well… they've sort of lost the right to object so…." Blaine remarked.

"Blaine, you're starting to freak me out here." Kurt had no idea what his mate was talking about.

"I saved the best gift for last and I wanted to do this with just us." Blaine said, holding a small velvet box in his hands and kneeling at a stunned Kurt's feet. "When I had that meeting with my grandfather in New York, the bracelet wasn't the only thing he gave me. He also gave me this. He thought that it would be quite fitting for you to wear and I have to agree. It belonged to his wife, my grandmother, Mina."

"Is that…are you…" Kurt's eyes were blown as wide as they could go as he stared at the box.

Inside the black velvet box sat a gleaming work of art…an exquisite silver ring with a perfectly cut brilliant sapphire in the middle. Kurt felt his breath catch in his throat and his heart raced.

"Kurt, you've already agreed to be my Chosen One, but I realized you'd never actually gotten a proposal and if anyone deserves one, it's you. You've known for some time now that I intended to spend the rest of eternity with you, but I thought it was time to make it completely official. This ring has been in the family vault waiting for you. I've been looking for you forever Kurt. I love you. Please say that you will wear this with pride and know that you have my heart and soul." Blaine said.

Kurt put his hand to his lips, blinking back tears of joy. "Yes. Of course, yes. Will you put it on me?" Kurt held his shaking hand out.

Blaine took Kurt's hand in his and slid the ring on. He was so proud that his Chosen One fit the ring so well. He dropped a kiss onto the ring and stood up pulling Kurt into his arms.

"I want to show this off to everyone." Kurt said, beaming, as he held his hand out, gazing at the ring with stars in his eyes. With everything that had happened, he never thought he'd be wearing a ring from someone as special as Blaine. "It's too gorgeous to not show off, Blaine."

"Let's get back to the festivities then, so you can do just that." Blaine teased with a smile as he opened the door from the terrace.

"Where did the two of you sneak off to or do we want to use our imaginations?" Jeff smirked.

"We were busy with important things." Blaine said. "We have a big announcement to make."

"What?" Nick asked curiously.

"This." Kurt held up his left hand, proudly displaying the ring. The room erupted with questions and noise.

"Hey!" Blaine shouted. "We will answer all your questions one at a time. Yes, I gave him the ring. Yes, we are going to be mated this year sometime. I know… not really a surprise since I publicly declared him to be my Chosen One months ago. No, we don't know when yet. We're just happy to be together."

"This is awesome!" Nick shouted. "The two of you were always meant for each other, even when Kurt was pretending to hate every one of us. I hope you know I am helping plan the mating ceremony… and I call Kurt's best man!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa Sterling! I'm the one who set this whole thing in motion by convincing the Council to send Kurt here. I get to be Porcelain's best man," Puck protested.

"Umm… guys we just got engaged a few minutes ago. Don't you think Blaine and I should get to pick who stands up with us?"

"You did what?" Burt shouted above all the other congratulations. The room went dead silent.

Kurt was sure his heart had stopped for a moment. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come see my son on his birthday." Burt scowled.

"Why don't we go out to the terrace where we can have some privacy?" Blaine suggested, motioning to the door. He could see the angry hurt looks on both Hummel men's faces and knew that this was not going to be pretty.

"That sounds good." Burt glowered at the vampire, but followed Kurt and Blaine out to the terrace.

"What now?" Kurt snapped at his father.

"I came here to see you, Kurt, and you're treating me like a stranger." Burt complained as his son paced the length of the balcony.

"What you finally make your way here after weeks of nothing and I'm supposed to welcome you with open arms? I'm frankly surprised you'd leave your other perfect family to come here." Kurt frowned, shocked that his father had actually pulled himself away from Carole and Finn to put in an appearance. "Do they even know you're here or is this a secret mission?"

"Kurt, that's ridiculous. You are my family and you will always come first." Burt shook his head. He knew that Carole and Finn were becoming a priority in his life, but that was because they were in Lima and Kurt was in Westerville.

"Somehow, that's not how I see it." Kurt pouted, knowing he was being a brat to his father, but he was tired of hiding and covering up the hurt. It was time to start standing up for himself.

"That's neither here nor there. I think the more important question is the ring that you are now wearing." Burt demanded. "I think you owe me an explanation."

"I don't owe you anything." Kurt shouted at his father. "I'm seventeen and decided since I'm not a part of your family, that it's time to start my own with Blaine besides Dad, it's not like you didn't know this was coming. We've discussed it before. It's sort of assumed when a vampire says you're his Chosen One that there is going to be a mating ceremony coming."

"Kurt, I know you're hurt and angry, but that's not a reason to run off and elope with someone you barely know." Burt was flabbergasted that his son would do something this irresponsible and crazy.

"I barely know?" Kurt's eyes flashed with scorn. "How would you know? Do you know how much time Blaine and I spend just talking? Or how much he's always there for me when I need him? He's the one that's been there to help me through my nightmares. He's the one who's been there when my family deserted me at one of the darkest times in my life. He loves me and I love him more than I thought was possible, but you would have to be in my life to see the changes. I know he doesn't ignore voice mails I leave him or conveniently forget his promises to me."

"That's not what happened and you know it. I am doing my best to protect you from Carole and Finn. If that means staying away from the house, that's what needs to happen to make sure you're safe." Burt answered. "But I will always be your father. I will always love you and I want you to talk to me. I want to always be a part of your life and to do that, you have to share things with me. And you're the one who's called every Friday and cancelled using Carole to give me messages because you didn't want to know how much you were disappointing me. Those dinners were your mom's favorite times because we were all together. I cannot believe you've forgotten that…. Forgotten her!"

"I've never called and canceled. It was Carole who told me you were too busy bonding with your new family to think about me." Kurt quickly answered. "If anyone has forgotten Mom it's you!"

Blaine felt it was his duty to speak up. "Don't you see what's been happening? Carole has been playing you two off of each other. You were both just caught up in her games and neither one of you is to blame. She's been telling Kurt that you were cancelling Burt. And then turning around and telling you that it was Kurt cancelling. She's trying to drive a wedge between you and from where I'm standing, she's doing an amazing job of it."

"Damn it." Burt cursed, realizing his wife had been systematically eradicating Kurt from their lives. She'd even gone so far as to remove photos from the walls that showed Kurt happy and a part of their family, claiming she was trying to protect Burt from painful reminders of his ungrateful son and he'd allowed her to do so, in a moment of weakness and grief. "God Kurt! I'm sorry… I should have seen what she was doing."

"I should have known better too Dad… It's just," Kurt paused biting his lip. "You've sort of been letting her treat me like I'm nothing, so it was easy to believe her lies. You're my father. I need you to stand up for me. You've always said I'm the most important thing in the world to you, but lately, I really haven't felt like it. You've stood by and let them insult me, humiliate me, and hurt me. We've not had one family dinner since before I went to New York. You told me you'd come here to see me and this is the first trip you've made. Blaine's been the one picking up the pieces every single time you've disappointed me. How are you going to fix it now?"

"Kurt…" Burt was at a loss for words because he realized that Kurt was right. He'd gotten so caught up in the Carole and Finn issues that he'd shoved Kurt to the back burner because he was out of the immediate line of fire from them. "You're right, Kurt. I've been blind and stupid, but things are going to be changing, just please don't cut me off. I need your support in this." Burt said. "I'm going to be talking to a lawyer. I'm done with Carole and her dirty tricks. She's crossed too many lines to come back from. I would never forget about you, Kurt. You're my pride and joy and my most precious memory of your mother. I love you, son."

"I love you too, Dad. Nothing can change that." Kurt was shocked that his dad was going to be talking to a lawyer, but it wasn't an unpleasant thought. Burt pulled his son into a bone crushing hug, both men wiping at their eyes when they pulled away.

"Now, about this ring…" Burt said, turning to Blaine and giving him his most intimidating look, sorry that he'd left his shotgun in Lima.

"I realize it's a little late for this now, but I wanted to ask you for your blessing to mate with Kurt." Blaine said.

"I see. Well…go ahead and ask, kid." Burt told him as he crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

Blaine shifted awkwardly, not having expected Burt to actually make him ask. "Okay…"

"Didn't think I was going to make this easy for you did you?" Burt said arching an eyebrow in a very Kurtish way.

"Right… no… of course not," Blaine said straightening and clearing his throat. "Mr. Hummel, I love your son. I have since the second I laid eyes on him. I swear to you, on my oath as a Prince of the Draculesti that I will always and forever treat him with all of the love and gentleness he deserves. He's a priceless treasure to me and I will always treat him like the miracle that he is. Please sir, grant me the gift of your son as my eternal life mate?"

"You better not even think about saying no Dad," Kurt interjected.

"Who would I be to stand in the way of true love or whatever it is you vampires call it, especially when it makes my son so happy." Burt answered. "The two of you have my blessing."

"Thank you Daddy." Kurt hugged his father.

"Can you promise me that you're going to finish high school before you have this mating ceremony?" Burt asked.

"I don't know that we can promise that, Mr. Hummel. Mating ceremonies are usually conducted within six months of finding each other unless there are extenuating circumstances. The Council is not pushing any ceremony on us because of Kurt's prior situations but it can only be put off for so long, sir." Blaine answered.

"Oh… I see, and what if my son still isn't ready when you and your council think this can't be put off any longer?"

"I will fight tooth and nail to make sure that doesn't happen Mr. Hummel," Blaine said earnestly. Burt gave a snort of disbelief.

"Dad!" Kurt said sharply. "Blaine has been very supportive of me and very considerate of my feelings. He would never pressure me into something I'm not ready for, and certainly not something this important."

"Regardless of when the official ceremony is conducted, I can assure you that we will be finishing high school and college. I have no plans to hold Kurt back from his future, Mr. Hummel, even after he is changed, he will be able to do anything he wants." Blaine said.

"I suppose I feel a little bit better about that, then." Burt answered. "I'm sorry if I was short with you kid, it's just… Kurt means the world to me. I've been protecting him for so long that I don't quite know when to stop or when he doesn't really need it."

"It ok sir. Believe me I understand," Blaine said. "I love him too." Kurt beamed at the two most important men in his life, linking arms with them both.

"As amazing as the party has been, it's not the same without you here Dad. Would you like to stay and join us?" Kurt offered.

"That cake in there did look pretty amazing. I suppose a little piece couldn't hurt anything, as long as you have one too, son." Burt said.

"We should probably warn you though, Jeff was in charge of the cake, so you're eating at your own risk." Blaine laughed as the three men walked back into the Common Room and joined the party once again.

*******

Several hours later, once the party wound down and Burt had taken his leave, Blaine and Kurt headed back up to their room. Kurt was carefully going through his gifts watching Blaine as he got ready for bed.

"That is quite the haul you've got there Mr. Hummel," Blaine said as he took his shirt off tossing it in the nearby hamper.

"It was a wonderful party, Blaine, and the gifts are wonderful, but you didn't have to do that for me. No one else ever has before. It's always just been Dad and me."

"That makes me even more glad that we did it then. You deserve to be celebrated and cherished every day, Kurt, but especially on your birthday." Blaine replied, pulling Kurt up and kissing him slowly with exquisite care.

"Blaine," Kurt breathed, his voice half sigh and half moan at the amazing feelings which Blaine stirred in him every time they kissed. Kurt ran his hands down the sculpted plains of his love's chest, wanting so much more, but not knowing if he could be bold enough to do it. Blaine scooped him up, carrying him over to his bed and laying down next to him as their kisses became more heated and their caresses more bold. It wasn't long before Kurt's shirt joined Blaine's in the hamper. Kurt ran a hand down his boyfriend's powerful chest, reveling in the sharp hiss his touch elicited. He continued his exploration only stopping momentarily at the button on Blaine's jeans before popping it open and easing the zipper down.

"Kurt, you don't…." Blaine's words caught in his throat as Kurt closed his hand around his manhood. "Oh holy fuck! Kurt!" Blaine moaned in response as, with Kurt's assistance, he quickly divested himself of his pants and boxers.

Kurt captured Blaine's mouth with his as Blaine nipped and sucked at his lips and tongue drawing just the slightest hint of blood which seemed to make Blaine's response even more eager. Kurt was so intent on bringing Blaine to ecstasy that he didn't even notice when the button was popped on his own jeans, but he definitely noticed when Blaine began to reciprocate, returning every ounce of the pleasure Kurt was giving him. The two boys were quickly lost in the passion that was building between them as Kurt's clothes followed Blaine's to the floor. Their caresses became more frantic, their breaths more ragged. Kurt's heart beat a rapid staccato which seemed to throb deep within Blaine's being as he thrust into Kurt's warm, slender hand. With a long low cry Blaine felt himself fall apart in Kurt's grasp, sinking his fangs into his own arm as Kurt shuddered with his own climax. Too spent to worry about cleaning up or even moving Blaine pulled his Chosen one firmly to him, kissing his bare shoulder.

"Best birthday ever," Kurt drowsily murmured as he fell asleep in the arms of the boy he loved.


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

"A vampire will go to any lengths to insure the happiness of their chosen one. They will deny their own physical and emotional needs if they deem it necessary. They will put their own life in danger. There is no sacrifice too large if it means that their intended mate is pleased with them."

-An excerpt from "The Chosen: Mating Rituals and Courtship" by Dr. Marvin 

 

A few days later, as Kurt hurried down the hall towards the library to do yet another research project for his tutoring with Dr. Duvall, he spotted a familiar plaid shirt and ball cap. His eyes widening, he rushed over to his father.

"Dad, what are you doing here? Is everything ok?" Kurt asked with his face scrunched in worry.

"Everything is fine kiddo. Can't a guy just want to visit his son?" Burt asked. Kurt shook his head.

"Of course you can, but its Monday, the busiest day at the garage because you get all of the people whose cars broke down over the weekend. I'm not stupid Dad. Now what's going on?" Kurt demanded. Burt looked uncomfortable for a moment before sighing and answering his son.

"The other night, with you and Blaine, it got me thinking and… we need to talk about some things Kurt. Can you get away?" Burt asked. Feeling truly concerned now, Kurt nodded.

"Sure. Do you want to stay on campus?" Kurt asked. "We could go to my room. Blaine has class the next two periods, but it's my free block so we should be uninterrupted.

"That's probably good. This is kind of ummm… personal," Burt said awkwardly.

"Just let me text Blaine and let him know where I will be." Kurt answered with a slight feeling of foreboding.

"You text him with your every location?" Burt raised an eyebrow. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"You've been listening to Carole. He doesn't demand I tell him where I'm at. I do it out of courtesy for him, Dad. Since Karofsky got onto campus, Blaine worries. I don't want him to be upset or send people out to find me." Kurt led his father up the stairs and down the hall to his room, quickly unlocking his door and letting his dad in. He shut it firmly behind him and waited until Burt was seated in a chair before asking, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Blaine…" Burt looked at his son with quizzical eyes. "Are you sure that this whole vampire thing is what you want?"

"I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous about aspects of it, but Blaine is the one for me, Dad. I love him with my whole heart." Kurt had never thought he would end up with a vampire for a boyfriend or mate

"That's nice to hear, son, but have you thought about all of the repercussions of this? It isn't going to be easy." Burt said. "You've just gotten a little taste of people not agreeing with the two of you."

"I've gotten more than a taste. Some things happened in New York that I didn't tell you about because I wasn't comfortable doing it around Finn and Carole, but it doesn't matter. I'm gay Dad. No matter whom I have a relationship with, there are always going to be people who don't like it. I won't let anyone ruin what I have with Blaine, though. It's for keeps." Kurt was determined not to let anyone, even his own father, rain on his parade with Blaine.

"You are completely sure this is what you want?" Burt asked one last time. He wanted reassurance that his son was happy and this wasn't a big mistake. He could protect Kurt from a lot of things, but not a broken heart.

"Of course it is, Dad." Kurt answered quickly.

"Ok then. I was pretty sure that's what you were gonna say so… I'm not sure how it works with a vampire, but I'm sure the mechanics are pretty much the same, especially with two males." Burt shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh my God Dad! Please tell me this is not what I think it is. I don't need to know this."

"What do you mean you don't need to know?" Burt's eyebrows shot up at his son's bold declaration. "Oh…so you're…what… Kurt have you and Blaine already…"

"NO!" Kurt exclaimed, his cheeks flaming. "Um… Not completely, but lines have been… um… crossed."

Burt frowned his eyes narrowing as he studied his son. "How far have these lines been crossed? You know what? Never mind. I really don't think I want to know. It really doesn't matter either way, but it was apparently a good idea for me to come today and bring you these things."

"Dad! Stop! My father is not giving me advice about…" Kurt was completely mortified.

"Son…"

"Father! We are not talking about… this!" Kurt shouted at his father.

"Oh, yes we are. Sit down, son. I want you to be safe, Kurt. You should always use protection."

"Oh my god, Dad. Really? Do we have to do this?" Kurt was horrified and panicked.

As uncomfortable as Burt was and as much as he wanted to tell Kurt that no, they didn't have to talk about this, he forced himself to continue. "Yes, we really do, Kurt."

"I really, really don't want to have this conversation." He continued to shake his head back and forth in disbelief, putting his hands stubbornly over his ears. He couldn't believe his father would do this to him.

"This is about making sure you're safe." Burt said, gently but firmly pulling Kurt's hands down.

"No, this is about you mortifying me with this." Kurt complained.

"I'm a parent…mortification is part of my job." Burt answered. "Now, I want to make sure you're safe with whatever you're choosing to do with Blaine. There are things you need to be aware of."

"Dad, Blaine and I can handle this on our own. I don't need advice from my father in this area."

"This area? Kurt, you're getting married and you can't even say sex, let alone participate. You'd better be ready for this. It's part of the deal and kinda expected when you get married, son."

"Dad!"

"Kurt, you've always been into the romance part of love, but the physical part is just as important. Maybe I've sheltered you too much, but if you're going to be an adult, making adult decisions, and having an adult relationship, then you need to be ready for sex," Burt explained to his son. He loved that Kurt wanted the special romantic love, but he was old enough to start dealing with the physical love as well. Burt wanted his son to be well educated about the physical parts.

"Why do we have to do this?" Kurt asked. "Can't I just follow Blaine's lead? It's worked so far."

"Kurt, be realistic. You should be educating yourself and not just relying on Blaine for everything. There are websites that…um…sell things…that might…um…help."

"This is a nightmare and I'm going to wake up at any minute, right?" Kurt asked, feeling the redness burning his face.

"I went on one of those sites and made a few purchases." Burt continued as if Kurt hadn't spoken. He held out a plastic bag and pulled out two books. Kurt was sure he was going to die of embarrassment as he looked at the two books, grateful when his father put them back into the bag.

"Father! Oh my God!" Kurt was freaked out and eyeing the bag like it was a poisonous snake ready to strike at any moment. Burt held the bag out to his red-faced child. He was not surprised when Kurt refused to take it. Burt had been expecting the reaction.

"Fine. I'll just give it to Blaine." Burt said, determined to make sure his son was ready for where his relationship with Blaine would eventually lead. Kurt quickly snatched the bag from Burt's hand, vowing to get rid of it at the first possible moment.

"There's umm… two books in there and some pamphlets and some…ermm… supplies that I was worried you two might be too embarrassed to get for yourself," Burt said. He sighed when Kurt wouldn't even look at him. "Son, I love you. You're important and sex is one of the biggest steps you will ever take in your life. I want you to be ready and comfortable. That's what this is about. I'm going to leave now, but I want you to promise that you'll read this stuff and if you have questions you call me. OK?"

Kurt, still unable to meet his father's eyes, nodded stiffly. Sighing and dropping a kiss on Kurt's head, Burt left. Kurt stayed sitting on the bed, unmoving for several moments, staring at the bag his father had left. Taking a deep breath, he reached out a tentative hand to look in it when the door burst open and a laughing Blaine and Jeff entered.

"What are you doing here?" Kurt demanded angrily.

"Uh, class was cancelled." Blaine slowly answered, wondering why Kurt was so upset and why his heart was racing. "What's in the sack?"

Panicked, Kurt grabbed the bag and shoved it behind him. The blush, which had faded when his father left, returned full force and he couldn't meet their eyes. "What sack?"

"The sack you're hiding behind your back." Jeff smirked. He knew that there had to be something good in the bag that Kurt had shoved behind him.

"Nothing. It's nothing." Kurt stammered, grasping for words to explain it.

"If it's nothing, why are you so worked up?" Jeff asked a slow smile crawled up his face to his eyes that shined with mischief.

"I said it's nothing." Kurt snapped.

"That definitely means it's something." Jeff grinned bounding towards the bed and grabbing the sack out of Kurt's hand in the blink of an eye.

"What the hell?" Kurt yelled as he watched Jeff empty the bag on the bed. "Oh my God!"

"Holy crap Kurt! Where did you find these gems?" Jeff asked grabbing one of the books and starting to flip pages. "And can I borrow it when you're done? Because I so want to try this one."

"You can have it, Jeff. My father decided today would be a great day for a sex talk and he brought along samples since I need to be educated." Kurt threw himself face down on his bed, embarrassed and humiliated.

"Kurt sweetie, It's not that bad," Blaine said, his eyes widening as a giggling Jeff showed him something in the book. Completely distracted, Blaine tilted his head to the side focusing on the picture. "That has got to be fake. Can the human body even bend that way?"

"Your dad is my hero." Jeff said, mesmerized.

Blaine was quizzically looking at another page. "This is just too weird for me, but this one could be a lot of fun."

"You are both just perverts." Kurt's voice was muffled, but vampires had excellent hearing and both boys chuckled. "This has to be one of the most embarrassing moments in my life and that's saying something because I've been thrown in dumpsters and locked in port-a-potties."

"It could be worse." Blaine tried to comfort his boyfriend, forgetting about the book. "At least your father went to the trouble to get you a few things to make it easier."

"Do you really think I want him buying those…things?" Kurt screeched at his boyfriend. "Do you really think I want to be educated? How would you feel if your father brought you these, Blaine?"

"He's talked to me about it before and it was not fun. Everyone has to go through something like this eventually love. Why are you so upset?" Blaine asked.

"My father brought me sex books Blaine and condoms and… and lube… flavored lube! And… you… you're looking at those books and… talking about positions and we haven't even… I don't know how to… Am I bad at… things? Do I need this stuff?"

"I think that's my cue to leave." Jeff slid silently from the room, leaving Kurt and Blaine facing off.

"Kurt, honey, what we have done has been amazing, but I think you need to be educated a bit, yes... not because you are in anyway lacking, but because I want you to be comfortable," Blaine calmly answered. "But if these aren't what you're interested in, we can forget about them. I want you to be comfortable with whatever we choose to pursue."

"That's it, Blaine!" Kurt was shaking, not with fear, but something that he couldn't name. "I am happy for us to just stay where we are. If you can't accept that…maybe we weren't meant to be."

"Kurt! Wait. That's not what I meant. Get back here! We need to talk about this!" Kurt left a shocked Blaine in their room as he slammed the door behind him.

*****

"What's wrong, Kurt?" Nick asked when the other boy came into his room, shaking and clearly upset.

"Blaine," Kurt managed to get out fighting off tears. Nick quickly rose, pulling Kurt in for a hug.

"What did he do?" he asked. "Because prince or not I will kick his ass for hurting you."

"My dad showed up with some things. I was going to get rid of them before Blaine saw them, but he and Jeff came into our room and saw the things and it led to a big fight."

"Why was your dad here? What sort of things?" Nick asked.

"He came to give me a sex talk." Kurt was still mortified.

"Oh," Nick couldn't suppress the little giggle that escaped. Kurt pulled away glaring. "I'm sorry Kurt, but you have to admit this is a tiny bit funny."

"It is not, Nick!" Kurt snapped, stomping his foot. "I love Blaine and I love what we do together but… s-sex is just… I know he would never hurt me, but he's stronger than I am… a lot stronger than I am. What if he… I know he'd never… but I wouldn't be able to fight him off and…"

"Kurt, only you can decide if you're ready to have a relationship like that. Blaine isn't about to pressure you for anything."

"But…" Kurt was just so confused about everything right now. "I yelled at him and told him that if all he wanted was sex, then we shouldn't be together."

"Hey, listen to me for a minute. For someone to declare you their chosen one means you're that person's soul mate. It means that they will protect you and would give up their lives to make sure you're safe. You are more than a boyfriend or husband. You are his one and only mate. Blaine would sooner die than hurt you in any way. And one fight does not mean that you aren't meant to be."

"I want to have sex with Blaine." Kurt admitted out loud. "I just don't know if I'm ready yet to cross that final line."

"He's not going to pressure you. He has wanted you for a long time, Kurt. And you'll know when you're ready. You can't rush making a decision like that. He will wait."

"Are you sure?" Kurt asked in wonder.

"I'm positive," Nick said firmly.

"But what if…" Kurt began. Nick shook his head.

"How can I make you understand this?" Nick muttered, frowning in deep thought. " Ok… A vampire's chosen one is always wanted and lusted after, but that's especially true for the Chosen Ones of the Draculesti. If something were to happen to me for example, Jeff would mourn, but he would move on eventually. If something were to happen to you, Blaine would mourn forever. Draculesti are unique among us in that they mate for eternity. To be their Chosen One means that in the entire world in all eternity you are the one person Blaine will love. Trust me, he'll wait for you. He's been waiting for you. Why do you think he takes those long showers? It ain't to get clean. Blaine's too much of a gentleman to come out and say that to you, though. He wants you to be comfortable considering everything that happened."

"Oh my god!"

"Kurt, masturbation…"

"No! We are not having this conversation. I've already been through one mortifying conversation today."

"Alright… fine. I just want you to be sure that you're ready and to know that there is no pressure from Blaine's end. He will wait for you. You can't rush things like this." Nick reminded his friend. "It took me two and a half years until I was ready to give my heart away. Sex is not any different. Both of you have to be ready and willing for it."

"Have you and Jeff…"

"We have, but only because I know Jeff loves and respects me and that I was ready. He has never pressured me once for anything. I love that so much about him. He lets me set the pace." Nick softly smiled.

"Blaine has done the same thing for me. I don't know why this has me so upset. Blaine and I have done things… lots of things… just not… that." Kurt told his friend.

"Go talk to Blaine and make up." Nick giggled. "It will be fine."

"Thank you Nick," Kurt said, squaring his shoulders and heading back to his room.

******

"I owe you an apology." Kurt said when he walked into their room and found Blaine sitting on his bed where he had left him. His boyfriend looked so upset and clearly confused and it broke Kurt's heart to know he had been the one to put that expression on Blaine's face.

"I owe you one too. I knew you were upset and that this is a sensitive subject for you. I shouldn't have teased you, but I want us to be able to talk about this," Blaine said earnestly.

"I do too. We need to talk… I need to explain what I'm thinking, why I reacted the way I did."

"I wish you would because I like the things we've done together… the way our relationship has progressed. I thought you did too." Blaine answered. "Do you feel like I've been pressuring you? Because that was never my intention and if…"

"No… no you've been amazing Blaine. It's just sex is…" Kurt said, taking a deep breath.

"Come here Kurt. Just sit with me and tell me what you're feeling." Blaine said patting the bed beside him. He wasn't sure where Kurt was going with this, but he knew whatever he said, it wouldn't change the way he felt about the blue eyed boy.

"Ok… so… um…the things we've done so far have been… wonderful, better than I could have ever imagined and I've loved them and I've never felt pressured, but for some reason the actual… umm… act it just…"

"Scares you?" Blaine offered.

Kurt nodded unable to use his voice.

"Is it the sex you're afraid of?" Blaine asked. Kurt shook his head. Blaine closed his eyes, trying not to let the hurt show in his face. "Is it me?"

"No…yes…I don't know. You're so much stronger than me and I couldn't stop you if things started to go farther than I wanted." Kurt admitted.

"Kurt…" Blaine unable to hide how painful Kurt's admission was for him. "I thought we were past this. I thought you knew I'd never do anything to hurt you. I've always stopped when you've said stop, even when I really didn't want to. You said you weren't scared of me."

"I 'm not… except for this… I know my fears are irrational. I've never, ever doubted your love for me and I am trying to get past this. I want to give you something that I've never thought about giving anyone else, but..."

"I would never rush you, Kurt. I want you to be happy. I love you and I'll wait for whenever you are ready to move past the boundaries we've set."

"I know. I just… I think maybe it's the biting. I… when Karofsky… bit me… it…the pain… and what if… what if you can't stop yourself," Kurt said. He knew he was babbling, but it was a relief to finally get his fears… his real fears out.

"Kurt… look at me. It will be different when we get to that. There are things I can do… ways to make it so it doesn't hurt. I… I've heard that if it's done right it even feels good. As far as stopping, it's something you're just going to have to trust me for. I love you. You are my world… my heart and soul. I would never, ever do anything to hurt you or destroy what we have. Either way, I will wait for you Kurt, and I will be here when you are ready."

"What if I'm never ready?" Kurt whispered. Blaine shook his head holding his hand and kissing it.

"You will be someday. Look how far you've come," Blaine said. "I will never push you into anything. I want you to be ready and willing. I want you to want this just as much as I do. I've been looking for you for such a long time, Kurt. We can take all the time in the world that we need."

"And if I were to say I was ready now?" Kurt asked tentatively.

"You'd be lying, but that would be amazing." Blaine answered honestly. "When you are ready, I will do my best to make sure it's as painless for you as possible. I've sort of been doing some umm research on how to do that anyway."

"What did you do with the…stuff my father brought?" Kurt asked.

"I put it in this drawer, right here, so if and when we want to use it, it's available." Blaine answered.

"Oh…okay. That's a good idea." Kurt wasn't sure he'd ever open the two books his father had brought.

"I know it's early," Blaine said. "But I really need to hold you right now. Come to bed with me?"

"I'd love nothing more."

******

"Hello beautiful," Blaine murmured kissing Kurt on the cheek as he sat down next to him a few days later.

"Hey you," Kurt smiled. "And what brings you to the library on this fine evening?"

"Well you see, my amazing boyfriend is in here studying, even though it's Saturday, so I've come to drag him away," Blaine responded giving Kurt a full grin which showed his dimples and the tips of his fangs.

"Oh I see," Kurt responded. "Lucky boy."

"Oh I am definitely the lucky one," Blaine said, kissing Kurt softly. "Have I told you how happy I am that you're here with me this weekend? Although, I also feel bad that you didn't get to go home to Lima since you haven't been able to spend any quality time with your dad lately."

"My dad and I decided that it would be best for me to stay here. We had a really good talk at dinner last night. It was nice to be able to finally talk to him again." Kurt sighed. He missed seeing his father everyday, but he was glad that he didn't have to face Finn and Carole again.

"Is there more trouble with Finn and Carole?" Blaine asked.

"Probably, but my dad didn't really give me any details and I didn't ask. I do know that Carole gave him some sob story about her and Finn having nowhere to go so he let them stay at the house, but he moved into the guest room." Kurt answered, refusing to let the thoughts about Carole and Finn bother him anymore.

"I really am sorry that things have been so rough for you and your Dad with those two, however it sort of works out for me because it means that you're here and I get to invite you to a picnic. Are you available, good sir?" Blaine smiled and used his considerable charm…hoping it would cajole Kurt into joining him and maybe cheer him up.

"I am always available to spend time with you, Blaine." Kurt closed his books, sliding them into his bag, and rose from his chair.

Kurt wasn't sure why Blaine was leading him back to their room when they were supposed to be having a picnic and he couldn't help but overhear the thunder outside the windows. The rain sounded like it was coming down in torrents outside as it pinged off the large windows in the hallway.

"It looks like we're going to have to postpone our picnic," Kurt murmured with a frown.

"Why is that love?' Blaine asked, still leading Kurt towards the dorms.

"Blaine…um, I don't think having a picnic in a thunderstorm is a good idea." Kurt said.

"I completely agree," Blaine said as he opened the door and ushered Kurt inside.

His breath caught in his throat. Blaine had prepared their room to look like a picnic…complete with a vintage picnic basket that Kurt was sure was an original. White twinkly lights had been strung around the room making it feel like they were dining under the stars. There were several bouquets of flowers in crystal vases, strategically placed around the room giving the room a soft floral scent.

"That's why I brought it inside love. I know it's not a romantic meadow, but…" Blaine looked at his boyfriend.

"Blaine…" Kurt breathed, in stunned shock at the lengths Blaine had gone through to make it a romantic event.

"I wanted to take you on a picnic and, since the weather wasn't going to cooperate, I had to make due. I hope you like it." Blaine said softy.

"I love it, Blaine. And there are no bugs to worry about either." Kurt joked as he tossed his bag on his bed and sat down on the classic red and white checked picnic blanket that covered the hard wood dorm room floor.

"I tried to keep the food simple and elegant, just like you." Blaine said and began to unpack the basket.

Kurt felt his stomach growl in anticipation as each item appeared. He couldn't help but blush at Blaine's words. It was still so amazing to him that he'd found someone who cared about him and treated him like he was the most important person in the world.

Blaine watched Kurt nervously for signs of his approval. His confidence in their relationship had been somewhat shaken by the incident a few days previous. He had been working very hard to prove to Kurt that he meant more to him than just the physical aspects of their relationship. He wanted Kurt's complete trust more than anything and he was willing to work hard to get it. He hadn't been quite sure if Kurt would like the picnic or even what food to have and had called his cousin Tina for assistance. He nervously picked up a chocolate covered strawberry and dangled it above Kurt's mouth; teasing and tantalizing as Kurt giggled and blushed harder. Blaine smiled at his Chosen One's obvious enjoyment as Kurt's mouth clamped around the strawberry and he savored every sensuous morsel.

"These are so good. I need to know where you got them so I can get them for myself." Kurt moaned around a delicious bite.

"I have a gourmet connection and he hooked me up." Blaine said, feeding Kurt another berry. "Don't worry love I will get you as many as you want. All you have to do is ask and it's yours. I'd do anything for you Kurt."

"I know," Kurt smiled softly, leaning in and kissing Blaine. The vampire pulled away after a few seconds reaching for the bottle he had chilling in an ice bucket nearby.

"You know, I shouldn't be drinking." Kurt teased. "It's going to go straight to my head, besides won't we get in trouble for having alcohol?"

"Nope." Blaine said, smirking. "There's really no prohibition against us drinking on campus and, even if we get caught which is completely unlikely to happen, they'll just tell us to not do it again."

"Oh." Kurt said, still sounding a little wary.

"We don't have to drink it if you don't want to." Blaine reassured him quickly putting the bottle away, cursing himself for being an idiot and feeling unsure once more. "Tina thought that you would like it. I'm not… This wasn't to try to get you drunk and take advantage or anything like that I just..." Kurt stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm.

"I know Blaine. I never thought you were. The champagne was very thoughtful. I just don't drink much. I had a bad first experience with alcohol, but I'd like a glass if you'll pour me one," Kurt said. Giving Kurt a relieved smile, Blaine complied.

Kurt took his glass and sipped because the bubbles always ticked his nose.

"Do you like it?"

"More than I should." Kurt giggled.

Blaine laughed. "I'm glad, but I have more things that I want you to taste and enjoy."

"Are the other foods as wonderful as the strawberries?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Blaine boldly flirted, loving all the happiness in his boyfriend's face and the fact that he had put it there.

"I'm intrigued." Kurt batted his long eyelashes at his boyfriend. "I'm game if you are."

"Close your eyes." Blaine demanded.

"Nope," Kurt replied, grinning as he picked up a strawberry. "Your turn this time Anderson. Close your eyes." Chuckling, Blaine complied. Instead of the strawberry, however, he found his lips captured by Kurt's. With a low moan, Blaine forced himself to pull away.

"Would you like to try some of the cheese?" he asked shakily.

"No I wouldn't. That is the second time you've pulled away from me. Come to think of it, you've barely touched me all week. What is going on Blaine? Do… do you not want me anymore?"

"No! God no! I want you so bad it hurts. I just… I don't want you to think I'm pushing you. I want you to know that you are important to me in so many ways, that you mean more than just sex to me. I want you to trust me… to know that I love you," Blaine said. "I don't want you to be afraid of me Kurt."

"Oh Blaine. Come here," Kurt said pulling the other boy to him and wrapping his arms around him. "I should have known this would happen. I shouldn't have said anything about being afraid."

"No Kurt. I'm glad you did. I want us to be honest with each other. It's important. I'm just not sure how to fix it or what to do to make you more comfortable," Blaine answered. Kurt sighed.

"Blaine I liked what we were doing… how we were progressing. I didn't feel pressured and you've never made me feel uncomfortable. The stuff with my Dad… the talk and the condoms… that made me feel pressured… like I should be ready to go further. I want to keep doing the things we've been doing progressing slowly. Every time we go farther and get closer to the real deal I become more comfortable… I trust you more. The things we do together are helping me to build trust not hurting it. Ok?"

"Ok," Blaine said, a relieved smile on his face. "In that case I really, really want to kiss you right now Kurt. I've missed touching you so much."

"I have a better idea," Kurt said with a wicked smirk. "How about instead, I kiss you?" Kurt lowered his mouth to Blaine's in a searing kiss that left the vampire practically purring and the food all but forgotten in the basket.


	26. Chapter Twenty Six

"After the death of his mate from the Plague, Dracul Vlad Tepes relinquished his seat of power to his grandson, Nathaniel Tepes Anderson. It was Dracul Nathaniel who ultimately made the decision to go through with the Reveal, a bold move for the newly seated ruler and a decision whose fallout he has continued to deal with."

-An excerpt from "Out of the Shadows: The History and Politics of the Great Reveal" By Lily Cohen-Chang Hughes

 

Blaine smirked as he ran his foot up Kurt's leg; grinning wider when Kurt looked up from the book he was reading for his lit class and gave him a stern glare. Things between the two boys had pretty much gone back to normal, although Blaine had continued his campaign to show Kurt how important he was to him. In the last week Kurt had received flowers, chocolates, a book he'd been wanting, and a beautiful Marc Jacobs scarf.

"Blaine… we're in the library and we're supposed to be studying," Kurt admonished although the twinkle in his eyes let Blaine know his Chosen One wasn't really upset.

"What? I was just stretching my legs," Blaine said innocently. Kurt arched an eyebrow.

"That's the fourth time you've 'stretched' in the last fifteen minutes," he pointed out.

"I have a cramp?" Blaine offered.

"Not buying it Anderson," Kurt said.

"Is it my fault that you look so good I just want to…" Blaine was interrupted by the vibrating of his cell phone which was sitting on the table between him and Kurt.

"Hello?" Blaine answered it. "Hi Dad! No… just studying… yeah with Kurt… of course I was really studying Dad. What else would I be doing? Ok… so not talking about that with you… So did you need something or did you just call to check in? Uh-huh… ok… When? Yeah… ok… Yes sir, I understand. Yes, I think it's about time too… ok… alright… I'll see you then… Bye Dad… yeah I love you too" Blaine hung up turning back to Kurt.

"That was my Dad," Blaine said.

"Really I hadn't gathered that Blaine," Kurt teased.

"Ha ha, Kurt," Blaine responded. "Since you've decided to be a smart ass I guess I just won't tell you what he called for." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry my darling wonderful Prince," Kurt said sarcastically. "Now what did he want?"

"That really wasn't all that heartfelt Kurt, but I suppose it will do. My father is having a family get together on Saturday evening and we are expected to attend."

"We? As in the royal we or as in me and you we?" Kurt asked.

"You and me. Dad wants to introduce you to the family… sort of a precursor to your formal introduction to vampire society," Blaine said.

"Oh, really?" Kurt raised a haughty eyebrow at Blaine. His fiancée was undeterred.

"Come on Kurt… It will be fun. It's just my family and maybe a few of our closest friends."

"Fun?" Kurt gave Blaine 'that' look. "Don't you mean a completely nerve wracking experience because it's my fiancée's family and oh yeah… they're all vampires."

"It's not that big of a deal and I want you to meet everyone. They will be your family one day too. Please Kurt. It's important to me," Blaine explained his eyes pleading. It would be his first chance to show off his Chosen One to all of the family at the same time.

"Puppy eyes! So not fair Blaine," Kurt said, trying to hide just how touched he was that Blaine wanted him to meet his family, even while he was still a human.

"So, will you please accompany me Saturday night?" Blaine asked so formally that Kurt giggled.

"Since you asked so nice and all, I suppose I am free." Kurt giggled once again.

"Wonderful." Blaine was so pleased that Kurt had agreed. He was excited to show his Chosen One his home since he had never been there before. Blaine frowned as he saw Kurt pull out his cellphone and start busily texting. "What are you doing?"

"Blaine, Saturday is only four days away. That barely gives me enough time to plan a decent outfit and buy any extra accessories I might need. I'm calling in the reinforcements." Kurt smiled as his phone buzzed and he began to gather his things.

"Where are you going?" Blaine asked. Kurt smiled pecking him on the lips.

"Shopping with Nick and Tina. Love you," Kurt grinned as he sauntered out of the library.

******

"Kurt, calm down. Your heart is going a mile a minute. It's just my family," Blaine had noted Kurt's heartbeats become more and more rapid as they pulled off the road, through the gates and up the driveway.

"Exactly, Blaine. It's your family. Is there a reason that I shouldn't be nervous?" Kurt asked as Blaine pulled the car to a stop in front of a very large house.

"They are going to love you because I love you." Blaine said, pulling Kurt in for a very thorough kiss, pleased to note that the human's heart sped up for an entirely different reason now. "It will be fine. You look beyond amazing. Now are you ready?"

"Would you be mad if I said no?" Kurt nervously asked.

"Of course not. I want you to be comfortable with those that will be your family one day, Kurt. If you're not ready to do this, we don't have to do it, but you'll have to face them sooner or later." Blaine didn't want to put any pressure on his boyfriend.

"We're already here, Blaine, and it would be rude to not go inside," Kurt steeled himself as he let Blaine guide him into the house. His eyes widened as he took in the large number of vampires milling around, all of them suddenly concentrating on him. He fought the urge to hide behind Blaine, who, hearing his heart begin to race put a loving and supportive arm around him.

"Breathe love," he murmured.

"Blaine, I thought it was just a family get together." Kurt hissed. Blaine looked awkward for a moment.

"I have a really large family. This actually isn't everyone. The only ones here from Mom's side tonight are Uncle Duncan, Aunt Lily, and Wes. We don't really die often so… we tend to have several generations around at one time. I might have forgotten to mention that a bunch of my cousins would be here too," Blaine shrugged guiltily.

"Yes, you did. This would have been nice information to have Blaine" Kurt growled quietly. He was not impressed with Blaine's omission and a little angry with his fiancé at the moment, but he didn't have time to dwell on that because Blaine's father and his Uncle Duncan were approaching.

"It will be fine, Kurt. Quit worrying. Everyone is going to love you like I love you." Blaine held onto his fiancée's hand as they moved from the front foyer and into the living room where Nathaniel pulled his son in for a hug.

Nathaniel released Blaine before giving Kurt a hug as well, pleased to see that his son's Chosen One was wearing both the ring and the bracelet Vlad had given Blaine. "Hello boys."

"Hello sir." Kurt respectfully said. "It's good to see you again."

"You also, Kurt. I'm glad that you and Blaine were available tonight. Everyone is looking forward to meeting you."

"Uncle Duncan." Blaine acknowledged his uncle. "Where's Wes?"

"Wesley had to go pick up Cordelia. They will be along later, unless they get 'distracted' again." Duncan gave a wry smile.

"So we'll see them in about two hours," Blaine snorted.

"If not later," Duncan agreed with a chuckle.

"Before we go in and start meeting people, I'd like to show Kurt the rest of the house, if you don't need me for anything, Dad."

"I think that is a fine idea, son. I'm sure Kurt would love to see one of the places where you grew up." Nathaniel nodded and Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand, leading him out of the room.

"They seem happy together." Duncan smiled.

"I think Blaine picked a fine mate. He's happier than I've ever seen him. He tends to be too serious. Kurt brings out his lighter side, although when I called to tell him about this party, he was studying."

"I'm sure he was studying." Duncan grinned. "Studying Kurt or maybe they were studying anatomy. Does Dalton offer that class?"

Nathaniel gave Duncan a friendly shove. "Hey, that's my baby you're talking about."

"Yeah, because you didn't give me a hard time when Wes and Cordelia got together. I'm the one who has to be worrying about teenage pregnancies. All you have to worry about is them getting caught doing things in places they shouldn't."

"Change of subject, please?" Nathaniel shook his head as they walked off to find Andrew.

*******

Blaine kept a tight grip on Kurt as they made their way through the room, stopping so that Blaine could introduce Kurt to some of the family he was closest with like his cousins Jaime, Lauren, and Meredith. As they passed through one of the rooms where a large group of his family was gathered, Kurt felt Blaine tense up as some of his more distant relatives took too many longing looks at his Chosen One. A few were even bold enough to lick their fangs.

"I feel like I'm on the menu tonight." Kurt quipped, feeling Blaine's hand tighten on his waist once again.

"Well you're not and they should learn some manners." Blaine hissed, sending his offending cousins an icy glare, knowing full well that they would take it as a warning and back off, at least if they valued their lives.

"Blaine…" Kurt winced as Blaine's hand tightened still. "Too tight."

"I'm sorry Kurt." Blaine apologized, loosening his grip slightly, but not his protective stance. "Why don't I show you my room? We can hang out there for a while, if you'd like."

"Blaine, it would be rude to hide in your room since this is a party." Kurt reminded him. "Just stay close."

"Always love." Blaine guided Kurt into the formal living room, stopping as they nearly ran into a tall good looking vampire who had what seemed to be a permanent smirk on his face as he looked hungrily at Blaine.

"Well, well, well. Blaine Anderson, long time no see. How are the hallowed halls of Dalton treating you?" Sebastian Smythe laid on the charm as he always did when Blaine was around. There was just something about the Anderson heir that he wanted for himself. Blaine sighed, unconsciously pulling Kurt closer to him.

"Hello, Sebastian. Have you met my Chosen One, Kurt? Kurt, this is Sebastian Symthe. He's an acquaintance."

"Oh, come on, Blainers. You know I am much more than an acquaintance." Sebastian smoothly replied, giving Blaine a slow, seductive stare.

"Maybe in your own mind, Sebastian. So, still enjoying all the depravity Paris has to offer?" Blaine asked in order to be polite, even if he detested the other boy and usually made every effort to avoid him at gatherings such as this. "How did you manage an invite to a private party?"

"I am dating that pretty little thing over there for the moment and it turns out he's your cousin, hence my invite to this little get together." Sebastian laughed lightly.

"I really thought Trevor had better taste than that," Blaine muttered. "How did you meet him?"

"You know Paris in the spring can be a little boring, so I decided that I simply had to come home and low and behold he was sitting next to me on the plane. I was my usual charming self and voila I had him on his knees in the bathroom by the end of the flight. Even better, he's a twin and you know I don't really have a preference." Sebastian smirked waving at a pretty dark haired girl who was standing with the boy he'd indicated earlier.

"They're only fifteen Sebastian. I suggest you back off before I inform Uncle Douglas. He's notoriously short tempered and very protective of Trevor and Conner both. Besides, I have no doubt that you can find another continent to visit. I'm sure there are untapped veins of depravity waiting for you somewhere." Blaine responded. "Have you been to Africa yet?"

"Now Blaine no need to get jealous. I did come to see you after all. I mean once I heard that the dapper and oh, so civilized Prince Blaine went out and got a blood whore, I simply couldn't stay away," Sebastian murmured giving Kurt a contemptuous glance. "You could have done so much better. He's not even a particularly good looking human."

Blaine felt Kurt tense up next to him and opened his mouth to defend his future mate. Kurt, however, beat him to it.

"I'd rather be a blood whore than the horse that everyone in town is riding." Kurt snorted with a snicker. "Is that really polyester you're wearing? Honey, hasn't anyone ever told you that it should be saved for track suits?"

"Listen, you pixie faced little human…" Sebastian snarled; his fangs bared because he would not let Blaine's little pet talk to him like that. Before he could go any further, Jeff slipped in between the boys holding a golden chalice of some liquid that Kurt was fairly sure wasn't alcohol.

"Sebastard, I'd say I'm glad to see you, but I'm really not. You ever get over that mad case of herpes you picked up in Amsterdam? I heard a rumor little Sebastian junior was in danger of falling off. Oh leaving so soon? I was just getting started baby," Jeff smirked as Sebastian threw a nasty look at Kurt and stalked off to bother someone else, knowing from previous experience that he was no match for Lord Jeffrey Sterling.

"That was fun! I've missed that guy. He just makes it sooo easy and he rises to the bait every single time," Jeff grinned. "Nice one by the way Kurt. May I borrow that horse line?"

"Of course, Jeff." Kurt generously agreed, smiling at him.

"I am sorry about that, Kurt. I didn't know he'd be here. He's been interested for a long time. I've been disinterested for the same amount of time." Blaine offered an explanation.

"He'd better learn to keep his fangs far away from you." Kurt answered, still glaring at the boy across the room. "He smells like Aqua Velva and dresses worse than Rachel Berry. You clearly have better taste than that."

"I love you," Blaine grinned.

"I love you too darling. Now, how about you introduce me to some of the family members I haven't met yet?" Kurt suggested.

"What about family members you already know?" Blaine asked as Tina practically skipped over. She grabbed Kurt, wrapping him in a hug.

"Hello to you too, Tina." Kurt said when she unwrapped her arms from his body.

"I am just so happy to see you, Kurt. I miss you." Tina said.

"I miss you too, but I've been really busy." Kurt reminded her. "It was nice to go shopping with you and Nick the other day though."

"I thought you were going to make that sales clerk cry when she saw your platinum card." Tina giggled. "I have got to try that out in Lima some time."

"It would be a sight to behold." Kurt smiled. "Only can we do it when Quinn, Rachel, and Mercedes are around to see it?"

"I think that can be arranged." Tina smirked. "You're evil, Kurt Hummel."

"I try." Kurt chuckled. "We should get together for…um…dinner sometime?"

"Definitely." Tina said. "What about next Saturday night? We can go to Breadstix. They have a good mixed menu for us and you."

"Ohhhh….I want to go too." Jeff bounced up and down.

Kurt and Tina exchanged a look. "If you can behave yourself and Nick agrees."

"He doesn't know it yet, but he's coming. He doesn't let me go out in public alone anymore, so he has to come because I want to go." Jeff said.

"Sounds like a date."

"Oh, I know you weren't hitting on my woman, Hummel." Mike grinned as he walked over to them.

"Tina's pretty, but she's missing a few key parts Mike." Kurt said. "We are planning a double date next weekend at Breadstix."

"Sounds like a good idea. It's been too long since we've been out to dinner." Mike agreed.

******

The grandfather clock chimed as the butler strode into the formal living room and announced that refreshments were available in the dining room. As the room emptied quickly, Blaine pulled Kurt off to the side and up the grand staircase.

"Blaine, where are we going?"

"I thought now would be the perfect time to show you my bedroom."

"Are you trying to seduce me, Blaine Anderson?" Kurt asked looking flirtatiously at his prince.

"Is it working?"

"No." Kurt grinned.

"Damn. I'll just have to try something different then." Blaine smirked, opening his bedroom door and ushering Kurt inside. He shut the door firmly behind him and locked it to keep out unwanted surprises. He wouldn't put it past Sebastian to sneak upstairs.

Kurt glanced around the room…it was nothing like he'd expected, and yet it was very Blaine. The walls were a warm caramel color which reminded Kurt of Blaine's eyes. The room was slightly messy, especially the desk, which was strewn with sheet music and what looked like some of the formal correspondence he knew Blaine periodically had to deal with. What appeared to be a handmade patchwork quilt adorned the bed, made in various shades of browns, blue, and yellows. All in all the room felt like a haven… a sanctuary of sorts, and Kurt loved it.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Blaine joked, but Kurt could sense his underlying nervousness.

"It's amazing Blaine. I especially like that quilt," Kurt remarked, walking over and running his fingers over the soft worn flannel.

"Mama made it. Grandmere Genevieve insisted she know all the womanly arts," Blaine said.

"Womanly arts? Isn't that a little old fashioned?" Kurt asked. Blaine chuckled.

"Well, considering Grandmere was born before the Civil War, it's sort of normal. I can't wait until you meet her Kurt she's… interesting. She and Grandpa Beau have a little condo in Orlando. They spend a disturbing amount of time at Walt Disney World."

"There is nothing wrong with spending time at Disney World, Blaine. It's the happiest place on Earth." Kurt remarked with a bright smile. "We should take our children there some day."

"Do you think about having children with me?" Blaine asked.

"It shouldn't be a surprise, Blaine. We've talked about it before." Kurt said.

"I know, it just seems like such a major commitment." Blaine said.

"Honey, I've agreed to be turned and spend eternity with you. That's a pretty major commitment as well. Don't you want children?" Kurt asked frowning. He had sort of been looking forward to raising a family with Blaine and was more than a little upset that Blaine might not feel the same way.

"Of course…later…when we both finish college and are ready."

"Well, I'm not planning a nursery or anything, just thinking about some day. We haven't even found a surrogate yet and we're still in high school. I am not insane."

"Okay, good. I'm glad we're on the same page" Blaine replied, relieved a bit that Kurt didn't want to have a baby right away. "We should head back downstairs and mingle some more."

******

As the evening wore on, Kurt started to become slightly more comfortable with the members of Blaine's family. They were very accepting of him, more so than some people in his own family, he reflected wryly. He had really enjoyed meeting most of them, especially Blaine's Aunt Sorcha. She regaled Kurt for over an hour with tales of Blaine's childhood and the various ways he ran off the long stream of nannies that had been hired to take care of him. He was particularly fond of the story of Blaine running off the last nanny by having Jeff come stay with him for a month, especially when Blaine pointed out that he wasn't sure who it was harder on; him or the nanny.

By the time they were on their way back to Dalton, Kurt felt a strong bond with several of Blaine's extended family members. It was a new experience for him because it had always been him and his Dad, even after Carole and Finn came along. It made him wonder what it would be like once he was turned and became a full-fledged member of such a close knit group.

*****

Kurt was smiling as he, Blaine, Jeff, and Nick and, of course, Puck joined Mike and Tina for their double date at Breadstix. He hadn't been to this restaurant since before Karofsky had attacked him the first time. It was nice to be able to walk into it without fear for his life. He was confident like never before with the boys and Blaine at his side.

"You know I never thought I'd say this," Kurt said, looking around the restaurant once they were seated. "But I've missed this place."

"It's really great to see you out and about. It almost feels like old times, except better," Tina smiled. "We should definitely get togeth… Dammit now it feels exactly like old times." Tina nodded towards the door which Mercedes had just entered.

"She just had to show up tonight didn't she?" Kurt asked sourly.

"We don't have to stay, love. We can go somewhere else," Blaine pointed out. Kurt shook his head.

"No, I will not let her drive me out of here. Maybe if we ignore her she'll leave us alone," Kurt said. His hopes were dashed when Mercedes spotted them and made a beeline for their table.

"Clearly they have let this establishment go downhill," Mercedes greeted. "Aren't you guys enough of a disgrace to our people and now you dare to come to our territory with him?"

"Your territory Ms. Jones?" Blaine said icily, arching an eyebrow in inquiry.

"That's what I said… your highness," she sneered in reply. Puck started forward a snarl on his face, but Blaine put a restraining hand on his chest.

"Last time I checked, it was my cousin Wesley's territory and if by some weird chance of fate, you were suddenly made the clan chief of the North American Covens, you'd still answer to me." Blaine snapped.

"I don't answer to someone who is betraying their kind." Mercedes snippily answered.

"Oh no she didn't." Jeff chimed.

"She's not very smart, is she?" Nick stage whispered and Mercedes hissed at him, causing Jeff to put a protective arm around his chosen one.

"We're just trying to have a nice dinner with our friends, and yet you made a point to come over here and bother us. Did you want something specific Mercedes, or are you just being annoying because that hideous weave is too tight again?"

"I wasn't addressing you human," Mercedes snapped before turning back to the others. "You are setting a bad example for vampires everywhere when you hang out with them. It's just disgusting what the ruling class has come to… mixing our oldest lines with that of the cattle. I thought you, at least, had better taste, Tina. You mated with a pureblood. Apparently, I was wrong. You've lost all the respect of other vampires in our community. Overthrows are pretty common in history, you know. I think perhaps you should remember that."

"Do you have a death wish Mercedes?" Kurt asked as every vampire at the table rose to their feet and Puck bared his fangs menacingly.

"Impudent wench!" Blaine hissed. Tina put a calming hand on her cousin's shoulder.

"Allow me my prince. You shouldn't sully yourself with the likes of her. She isn't worth your time, besides I've been waiting to deal with this one for years now." Tina murmured, allowing her fangs to lengthen as she stepped in front of the boys. "Listen up, Mercedes Jones, and listen good. I'm going to give you this warning one time and one time only because we used to be friends. With what you just said, I am well within my rights to have you thrown in jail, at the very least. Treason is punishable by death, and, for the record, threatening the prince doesn't go over real well with my uncle. As for insulting our Prince's Chosen One, as you've done time and time again, that can be just as unhealthy for you. Perhaps you didn't notice the bracelet Kurt's wearing. It was a gift to him from the Count and unless you really want to take him on, I suggest you trot your skanky self back to whoever's bed you just crawled out of this time, 'cause you may have the wool pulled over Sam's eyes, but you haven't everyone else."

Mercedes looked at the other girl. "I'm not afraid of you bitch."

Tina moved so fast that Kurt didn't know she was out of her chair until he saw Mercedes on the floor. She staggered to her feet, lunging for Tina who easily sidestepped her and backhanded her to the ground again.

"Perhaps you should have been," Tina smirked as Mercedes rose and Tina brought her foot up in a graceful arc connecting sharply with her cheek bone and sending her sprawling once more.

"And you were worried about me causing a scene." Jeff said to Nick before starting to loudly chant. "Chick fight! Chick fight! Chick fight!"

"Jeffery! Sit down!" Nick gasped. "I can't take you anywhere."

"Enough!" Blaine roared. Tina froze immediately, sketching a perfect curtsey toward Blaine. "Puck!"

Puck stepped forward, grinning. "Yes, your highness?"

"Would you have the trash taken out for us please? The smell is ruining our dinner."

"It would be my pleasure." Puck grinned as he tossed a woozy Mercedes over his shoulder and trotted out the door.

"I don't know why she insists on putting her nose in where it doesn't belong." Nick said.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked Tina.

"No! I broke a nail." Tina pouted.

"I'm sorry baby." Mike said. "I have got to say though, that was possibly the hottest thing I have ever seen." Tina grinned as Mike pulled her in for a searing kiss.

"Ok… enough trying to eat my cousin's face Mike," Blaine said.

"Of course your highness." Mike pulled away grinning unrepentantly.

"Tina, that was amazing!" Blaine said pulling her in for a hug. Tina laughed softly.

"It was sort of a personal fantasy of mine," she grinned.

The sound of a commotion outside the restaurant let everyone know that Mercedes was apparently aware of her surroundings once more and giving Puck a hard time. Kurt sighed rolling his eyes.

"Why was I ever her friend? I hate that social climbing bitch." Kurt snapped.

"I never understood why you guys put up with her. I've never liked her. What? Like I'm wrong?" Mike said looking between Kurt and Tina. "Her parents have no power in the clan and she's looking to climb up the ladder so she's got more prestige than them. On top of that, she is a self -hater. Her parents are both turned, but she refuses to date anything but a pureblood vampire. She'll barely even talk to someone who is turned. Since all the purebloods currently in power are taken, it only makes sense that she's decided to align herself with those who want the power for themselves and is warming every bed she can find in the process."

"Tina, your boyfriend is right. She's definitely a social climber," Blaine agreed.

"Come on guys, it's not exactly easy to be in her position," Nick said compassionately.

"Nick, she comes from the same sort of background as you and yet she spends half her time belittling and humiliating others whereas you spend your time trying to help people and expand their way of thinking," Kurt pointed out.

"That's why I love him. I think he's sexy." Jeff started to sing-song, snuggling up to Nick's side.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Dork!"

"But I'm your dork and you love me. You want to kiss me. You want to f…"

"Stop right now, Jeffery, if you want me to do any of those things tonight."

"My lips are sealed."

"Can we talk about something other than Mercedes or Nick and Jeff's sex life?" Kurt asked, shifting in his seat. "I am so tired of the McKinley drama. I just want to move on with my life."

"You're absolutely right Kurt. This is so not worth our time." Tina agreed. "So, what did you think of the new Vogue?"

"I can't believe what people call taste these days."

 

As Blaine listened to Kurt, Nick, and Tina talk fashion, he couldn't help but be so proud that Kurt was able to let the interaction with Mercedes not put a damper on their evening. He really had come a long way in such a short period of time. At the same time, he himself was unable to quite let the girl's behavior go. As the prince, he couldn't help but find both her threats and lack of respect troubling. Both his father and the Count had heard disturbing rumors of an underground movement to break their ties with the human world and it sounded like Ms. Jones was spouting some of their rhetoric. He would definitely be having a conversation with his father about tonight's events.


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

"It is forbidden for any vampire within the territories under the dominion of this governing body to stalk, hunt, or pursue with the intent of violence any human residing therein. Any vampire to be found in violation of the prohibitions against the hunting of humans or found to be threat against a human or humans shall be tried by the High Council of the Covens."

-Article 3, Section 5 of the Constitution of the United Vampire Covens

 

As winter passed them by and a flurry of spring activities began, Kurt and Blaine had grown closer; choosing to spend time together getting to know every little detail of each other's lives.

For Blaine, his whole life was revolving around Kurt. He strove to make him happy since his Chosen One had experienced too many awful things in his young life. He was pretty determined to make every day a sunshine filled day, in the metaphorical sense.

Kurt knew that because of Blaine, he was changing as well. He was beginning to put more trust in those around him and was letting them in. Blaine was quite pleased to see that Kurt was interacting regularly with other vampires at Dalton who weren't part of the Warblers. Although, Kurt wasn't spending much time at home these days, his father understood. Burt had even been more than willing to come to Westerville for Friday night dinners and that meant much more to Kurt than he had words for. Of course, Blaine was always invited, even if he didn't go to every one of them, citing the need for Kurt and Burt to have time together. Still, Blaine spent as much time as possible with his Chosen One, as was the case on a beautiful Sunday afternoon when he found Kurt in the butterfly gardens soaking up the sun.

"What are you doing out here?" Kurt asked. "I thought you were studying."

"I was, but I wasn't getting much accomplished because I missed you. I don't want to sound like a stalker or anything, but I can't bear to be that far away from you." Blaine answered. "I guess that's just the way it is once you find the one you want to spend forever with.

"That's sweet, but you can't give up studying and we are going to need time apart from each other." Kurt gently reminded him.

"I know, but I might have had ulterior motives today. Come on, there's something I want to show you," Blaine said holding out his hand.

"Where are you taking me?" Kurt asked for the fourth time as Blaine finally parked the car.

"You are about to find out," Blaine grinned getting out and going around to Kurt's door.

"You are very frustrating," Kurt grumbled.

"And you love it." Blaine smiled as he opened the car door and led Kurt to an outcropping that overlooked the grounds of Dalton. "This is a special little place that I enjoy coming to when things get too stressful for me and I want to share it with you

"Blaine, this is beautiful. How come you haven't brought me here before?"

"It's not exactly a lovely warm place in the middle of winter, Kurt."

"I suppose you're forgiven, this time." Kurt looked at Blaine. They spent the next several hours just enjoying each other's company, sometimes kissing, sometimes just talking, and others absorbing the quiet beauty around them. Kurt glanced over at his prince and felt what was becoming the all too familiar ache of desire as he saw how handsome Blaine looked.

"So, how private is this place?" Kurt asked before he could stop himself. Blaine looked at Kurt with a warm twinkle in his eyes that made Kurt blush.

"What do you mean Mr. Hummel?"

"I just meant that no one is going to show up and crash our date, right?" Kurt asked.

"No one would even think about crashing our date unless they want to feel my wrath." Blaine told him.

"Good, because I don't want an audience while I do this." Kurt leaned over and kissed Blaine's lips softly.

"Neither do I." Blaine murmured, leaning over and capturing Kurt's lips in a longer, more sensuous kiss. He slowly lowered Kurt to the blanket he had spread out for them to sit on, holding himself up with one hand as his other gently stroked down Kurt's side. With a low moan, Kurt's hand's came up to run through Blaine's hair, encouraging him to take the kiss deeper. Blaine pulled away from Kurt's lips to nuzzle at his neck. His hand sliding up Kurt's side and under his shirt.

"Why don't we…" Blaine murmured as he sucked at the tender flesh behind Kurt's ear.

"Why don't we do what?" Kurt breathed, not really focusing on Blaine's words.

"We can take this back to our room and be more comfortable." Blaine pulled away from the warm flesh of Kurt's body.

"Or we could just stay here." Kurt purred, pulling Blaine back down on top of him. Blaine resisted the temptation to give in to what his boyfriend wanted.

"I love you, Kurt. You have no idea how tempting that is." Blaine answered his future mate. "But look at that sky. It looks like a storm is moving in and I would prefer us in a warm, dry room with plenty of space to stretch out, even if we just watch a movie or something."

Kurt glanced at the sky, the dark clouds which had come out of nowhere looking like they were ready to unload a deluge on them. "I suppose you're right, Blaine. Let's go back to the dorm. Maybe we will watch a movie…later."

*****

By the time Jeff and Nick came looking for them, several hours later…both boys had changed into pajamas and were snuggled together, watching The Sound of Music, contented smiles on their face.

"Don't you guys look cozy." Nick smiled. "Wes sent us to find you."

"Party in the Common Room." Jeff smirked. "It's raining cats and dogs and no one wants to go anywhere, so we thought we'd all just hang out."

"But we have school tomorrow." Kurt replied.

"Oh, didn't anyone tell you, tomorrow is a teacher work day which means no class for us. We can stay up as late as we want tonight, Kurt." Jeff laughed. "Wes is starting a game of Monopoly, Blaine. He says if you don't come, that you're a chicken since he beat you last time."

"Oh, it is so on." Blaine grinned, hopping out of bed.

"You're giving up spending time with me to play a board game with Wesley?" Kurt pouted.

"We can stay here, if you want." Blaine said, instantly contrite.

"I'm teasing Blaine. It would be rude not to join the other boys and I would love to see you kick Wesley's ass at a board game. He gets so smug when he wins."

"Then let's go." Jeff bounced like Tigger in anticipation.

"I'm dating a two year old." Nick shook his head. Kurt giggled when he heard Blaine shouting down the hallway.

"I'm the Prince. I get the top hat."

"I feel your pain, Nick." Kurt said.

As it turned out, Puck soundly beat both Wesley and Blaine at the game. A pouting Blaine came over and sat next to his boyfriend.

"Comfort me. I've been defeated." Blaine said as he laid his head on Kurt's shoulder. Kurt chuckled, patting Blaine on the back.

"Poor baby." Kurt teased.

Jeff and Nick were across the room on one of the couches completely wrapped up in each other. They didn't even notice that Wes, Puck, and Mike were taking turns seeing how many times they could hit them with wads of paper before they came up for air.

"Blaine, can I ask you a question?" Kurt asked, vaguely aware of all the others in the room.

"Of course, my Chosen One." Blaine had taken to referring to Kurt like that simply because he could and he knew how much Kurt liked hearing it said.

"I wanted to ask you… I mean we've talked about it, but we haven't really… and I don't know…"

"Kurt… honey… just spit it out. I love you. Nothing will change that," Blaine said taking his hand and squeezing it gently. Kurt took a deep breath.

"I… um wanted to ask about the turning. I know the mechanics of it but I don't really know much about what actually happens during the process," Kurt asked with honest curiosity. "I mean, I've only heard the horror stories and seen badly made movies."

"Dr. Duvall hasn't talked to you about this?" Wes asked, quite surprised that it hadn't been discussed before now.

"We've been concentrating on the history so far." Kurt answered. "And I haven't been comfortable enough to ask him yet. It seems like it's a very personal and private thing between mates."

"It is." Blaine assured Kurt. "Although anytime someone is turned, the whole clan celebrates because it's good for everyone to have new lines created. When your blood mingles with mine, we'll be creating a whole new genetic set for our family." Blaine proudly said, unable to hide his smile at the idea of having children with his Chosen One.

"Oh, I never thought of that. So, even though you'll be the biological father of any children we might have because of the monarchy…"

"They'll have some of your genetics as well. They'll be able to be traced to you too. They will be, in a real sense, your children too." Kurt felt a warm glow deep in his heart at the thought of being able to have children that would actually be his and Blaine's. It was like a small miracle. However, Kurt still couldn't put aside his fears of the turning.

"As wonderful as that sounds, you still haven't answered my first question about the actual process."

"I won't lie to you, Kurt. It isn't easy. Literally your entire body is torn down and rebuilt in the process." Blaine slowly explained. "When you're ready to be turned, I'll bite you and then feed you a small amount of my blood. That's what actually triggers the turning. There is some pain, but I'm told you'll be mostly out of it until the process is complete and will only have vague memories of it afterwards."

"Don't look so terrified Kurt." Wes jumped in. "If the turning is done in love, like it will be with you and Blaine, the pain does not last and the human is usually prepared for it."

"But you aren't going to suffer, if that's what you're afraid of, Kurt." Nick said, when he and Jeff finally came up for air, his own neck sporting various love bites. "My dad will be there to supervise and he can give you medication to dull the pain."

"It's not that." Kurt shrugged.

"Then what is it?" Blaine asked.

Kurt steeled himself with a deep breath before he spoke again. "We've talked about this before. The biting still scares me, Blaine. I've already been bitten once and it wasn't anything I ever wish to repeat."

"Kurt, the biting done in the act of intimacy is completely different than what Karofsky did to you because it's not about the hurting or the suffering. It's about the connection between two people. You and Blaine are already connected in so many ways. This would just be another," Nick explained, glancing at Jeff.

"I'm told that in the throes of passion, all you'll feel is the love that flows between us." Blaine tried to reassure Kurt. He knew from their earlier conversations, that this was a touchy subject with Kurt.

"It's just that I've never given that kind of complete control over to anyone before and it's kinda scary." Kurt admitted.

"I will never hurt you, Kurt." Blaine would die before he'd willingly subject Kurt to pain like that if there were any possible way to avoid it.

"I know you won't. It's just…what if it doesn't work?" Kurt asked, hoping no one would laugh at him.

"It doesn't fail, Kurt. If you give your blood over to a vampire and take his in return, it always works." Wes assured the worried boy.

"Haven't there been studies about it failing?" Kurt asked.

"Sweetheart, my father is head of the Council and I would know if there was a failed turning out there. If there was any possibility, I wouldn't let you go through with it." Blaine assured Kurt. "The process is pretty fail proof and I will be there for every step of it. Is it just the turning that scares you or is there something more?" Blaine wrapped his hand around Kurt's, trying to give him courage.

"What if… what if I end up like Karofsky? What if I can't learn to properly control myself and end up hurting an innocent bystander? I couldn't live with myself if I did something like that." Kurt didn't want to have that kind of a life. He couldn't bear to know that he might be like that someday.

"Kurt, you are not like that big bully. I would never allow you to become someone like that." Blaine said. "I will do whatever it takes to make sure that you will be able to control your baser urges. Sweetheart, you are too good to ever be a monster like Karofsky."

"We will all help you to learn Kurt." Wesley added as the rest of the boys nodded in agreement. They understood it was already going to be hard for Kurt to be turned and how much he would need their support.

"Thank you." Kurt gave Wes and the rest of the boys a genuine smile that silently conveyed how grateful he was for their friendship, support, and love.

"I think we're going to retire to our room, gentlemen. We will see you some time tomorrow. Do not wake us. Puck, you are ordered to keep them away by any means necessary." Blaine ordered.

"Yay for me." Puck gave a toothy grin as he followed the boys up the stairs and took his position in front of the door.

*****

Several days later, Blaine paced around his dorm room. He was not looking forward to this conversation he had to have with Kurt. He'd put it off as long as he could, but could not do that anymore, especially after the phone call from his father and the direct order to tell Kurt today.

"Why do you look so pensive?" Kurt asked when he entered the room. He'd begun to sense his fiancé's moods of late. "What's wrong?"

"Please sit down, baby." He took Kurt's hand and led him over to the bed. "I just got done talking to my father and there's something you need to know."

"All right, what is it? You're scaring me, Blaine." Kurt nervously played with his ring.

"My father called to talk to me about the trial with the Vampire Council over the Karofsky incident." Blaine began, trying to find the words to explain the whole situation.

"Oh…okay, I see… Clearly, there's something you're not telling me. What is it?"

"This is going to be difficult for you, just remember I love you and will be with you the whole time. I knew it was a possibility, but Father confirmed it today…" Blaine said, taking a deep breath. He had never hated anything more in his life than what he had to tell Kurt now. "You will be expected to testify. My father thought hearing about it from me might be best since you will probably have questions that I can answer."

"You think any of this is best? How the fuck would you have any idea about what is best for me?" Kurt shrieked and began to pace around the room agitatedly. It felt like the walls were closing in on him and he just had to get out. "He attacked me twice and now you want me to have to face him in court? What's to stop him from attacking me again? Is the third time going to be the charm?"

"Honey, I know this is going to be hard." Blaine repeated, feeling helpless.

"You don't know anything, Blaine. You don't know what it's like to be so completely at someone's mercy… to be tormented day after day after day… to suffer while people watched and did nothing to help you. They're going to let him off, aren't they? I won't be safe anywhere."

"You will always be safe here. I would lay down my life to keep you safe. Anyone here would."

"Are you forgetting I was attacked here, Blaine? Where were you guys then?"

Blaine visibly recoiled at Kurt's harsh words.

"Kurt, we were there for you. We saved you."

"But not before he took something that should have been yours."

"I know it hurts, baby, but you are stronger than you know. You can do this. You have to do this." Blaine said.

"I don't have to fucking do anything, Blaine." Kurt snarled. "And you can't make me, unless you really are like him."

"Kurt, testifying is the only way to show the Council the monster that Karofsky really is. If you don't, he could be found innocent and attack someone else…someone who might not be as lucky as you."

"Lucky? How can you consider me lucky by any stretch of the imagination? Because I didn't die? Because I wasn't turned?" Kurt shrieked.

"Kurt…"

"Don't Blaine. This whole thing is such a sham! He is guilty! Why are you even giving him a chance to explain himself?" Kurt raged, feeling out of control.

"Kurt, calm down." Blaine gently said, trying to get Kurt to stop the pacing. He could hear the other boy's heart beating way too fast. Kurt's face was ashen and he was taking in large gulps of air.

"I have to get out of here." Kurt hissed, looking for the door. He had to get out now before he went crazy.

Blaine touched Kurt's shoulder and Kurt spun on his heel, shoving him away. "Don't you touch me, leech."

The door burst open and Puck stormed through with Nick, Jeff, Wes, and Mike close behind.

"Stay back. Kurt's not in his right mind at the moment." Blaine said.

"Not in my right mind? Maybe I'm finally just seeing you for who you really are." Kurt growled. Nick took a tentative step towards Kurt.

"Kurt, calm down and tell us what's going on." Nick gently said, continuing to step slightly toward the other boy.

"Get away from me." Kurt hissed, backing up fast, his hands searching behind him for anything he could use as a weapon. He felt a heavy book and picked it up, lashing out as the scary vampires got closer to him.

Blaine couldn't help the flinch back when Kurt struck him with the book. He understood his Chosen One was trapped by fear. He knew he had to help him. He darted forward, grabbing the book out of his hands.

"I am not a blood whore." Kurt screamed when strong hands went around him. "You can't have me. I won't let you touch me. I'm not going to lie down and let you keep me as a pet."

Kurt increased his struggles with the arms tight around him. The world began to gray out at the edges and his eyes slipped closed, growing limp in Blaine's arms.

"What the hell was that?" Puck demanded.

"Did he pass out or did you knock him out Blaine? What the fuck is going on?" Nick demanded.

Blaine ignored the questions from the others as he gently tucked his Chosen One into bed.

"Blaine you'd better tell me what the hell just happened or I will have to call the Council," Wes growled.

"People just don't act like that unless something is wrong. Trust me, I know." Nick said.

"I didn't do anything to him. I told him about testifying at the Karofsky trial. I suppose it was an expected response." Blaine answered, his eyes firmly locked on Kurt, only relieved slightly that his Chosen One's heart beat had slowed and he was breathing normally.

"Why the hell would you tell him that?" Nick demanded angrily, ignoring the questioning look from Jeff and Wes. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Was I supposed to just let him go into it blind? Did you want me to lie to him?" Blaine snarled.

"Enough, Nicholas. This isn't Blaine's fault." Jeff hissed at his own chosen one. "You should know better. We all should know better."

"Nick, he deserved to know what was happening and that he's expected to testify." Blaine answered, understanding how Nick felt.

"Oh god." Nick paled himself, glad for Jeff's comforting arms around him. He couldn't imagine what Kurt was feeling about all of this being revisited again. "Is he going to testify? I mean, he still gets a choice, right?"

"Of course he gets a choice, but I will always be truthful with him. He deserves me being honest with him and whatever he chooses to do, I will stand by him and support him." Blaine wanted Kurt to testify so they could handle Karofsky once and for all, but it was still Kurt's choice in the end. "Everyone needs to understand that if he doesn't testify, Karofsky could get off."

"So he doesn't have a choice? Not if he wants to stay safe. I can't believe you're doing this to him." Nick snarled.

"Do you think this is what I want? That I want to see him in pain and terrified? I thought you knew me better than that… I thought I knew you. Get the hell out of my room and away from mate!" Blaine shouted snapping as it all just became too much for him.

"No. Not while Kurt needs me," Nick snapped.

"Get him out of here, now or I will not be responsible for what happens." Blaine hissed at Jeff before turning to the others. "In fact everyone leave. We don't want or need any of you here right now."

"You can't just order us around Anderson!" Nick glared. Blaine arched an eyebrow.

"Oh can't I?" he hissed. Nick opened his mouth to respond, but was stopped by Jeff.

"Nicholas, that's enough!" Jeff clamped a hand on Nick's arm, dragging him from the room with Mike's help. "You better take care of him Blaine or Nick won't be the only one you'll have to contend with." Jeff added before shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Blaine…" Wes began, reaching out a tentative hand. Blaine cut him off with an icy glare.

"What are you going to do now Wes, accuse me of raping him?" Blaine snapped. Wes flinched.

"Blaine I'm…"

"Don't Wes. I can't deal with anymore right now." Blaine said tiredly. "We'll talk about this later. I need to be with Kurt right now. Just get out and leave me alone."

Wes nodded and slipped quietly out of the room, leaving Kurt, Blaine, and Puck alone.

"I told you to leave, Puck." Blaine hissed.

"Not happening." Puck shrugged.

"I am the Prince and I gave you an order. Follow it."

"Yeah, well you were my friend first." Puck stubbornly said. "I heard everything that went on…everything that Kurt said. Are you okay?"

"What do you think?"

"Dude, he didn't mean it. He didn't even know he said it. I know you guys have never really seen it, but Kurt Hummel can be a vindictive bitch when he wants to be. And he's even more so when he feels trapped or cornered. He would never have said any of that if he was in his right mind though. He loves you."

Blaine shook his head. "Then where did that all come from?"

"He wasn't seeing you, Blaine. He was seeing Karofsky and reliving all the torture he was put through."

"He told me that he was still scared of me," Blaine said, his eyes shining with pain and unshed tears. "That night his dad gave him the sex talk. That's why we haven't… He's afraid I'll end up hurting him like Karofsky. And then tonight… You guys, my best friends… my family all thought I had done something to him. Am I like that?"

"Dude… no. They were just worried and had no idea what was going on," Puck tried to reassure him.

"God… he was so scared, and there was nothing I could do. Everything I tried just made it worse. I could feel how terrified he was. I was afraid he'd hurt himself or someone else. I had to put him to sleep, but what if he doesn't see it that way? What if he hates me? What if I lose him over this Puck?"

"You won't lose him. He is head over heels for you man," Puck said. "We all can see it. You two are so in love you practically ooze little rainbow colored hearts."

"I hope you're right," Blaine said sitting in a chair next to the bed and taking Kurt's hand and kissing it as he brushed his hair gently off of his forehead. "He'll probably be hungry when he wakes up. Will you run out to Panera and get him some soup and that green tea he likes?"

"I see how it is. I'm just your errand boy." Puck teased.

"Puck, you know you're a lot more than that. You're my Second and if Kurt and I get through this when we get mated, you'll be my Best Man." Blaine replied with a small smile.

"You and Kurt will be fine and I'll always be there for you dude. You're my boy," With that, Puck was gone, off on his errand, but not before stopping to give the others a piece of his mind.

Blaine sat next to his Chosen One, waiting for Kurt to wake up, grateful when he heard his slight stirring and saw the fluttering of Kurt's eyelashes.

"Hey." Blaine murmured, brushing the stray hair back from Kurt's face when he finally opened his eyes and blinked several times.

"Blaine?" Kurt groggily asked.

"Welcome back." Blaine answered, relieved to see Kurt's blue eyes look at him with love once more. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I feel kind of woozy. What happened?" Kurt asked.

"You had an episode. I had to put you to sleep when you started throwing things." Blaine answered cautiously. "Do you remember any of it?"

"I remember bits and pieces, but not throwing things." Kurt said. "The last thing I remember is you telling me about the trial and just being so angry and scared. And then, oh my gosh…I didn't mean it, Blaine."

"I know it love. It's fine," Blaine reassured him doing his best to smile. Kurt shook his head.

"It's not. I can see how much it hurt you and… oh my god have you been crying?" he demanded. Blaine shrugged.

"I'm fine. It's…" Blaine said, still struggling with his emotions, but not wanting to upset Kurt any more than he already had.

"Blaine look at me," Kurt pleaded. Slowly Blaine raised his head looking Kurt in the eyes. "Oh Blaine come here."

It killed Kurt to see the love of his life looking so broken especially when he knew he was the cause. He pulled Blaine down to lay with him wrapping him in his arms.

"I'm so, so sorry Blaine. I'm not sure what I said, everything is a little foggy, but I know I love you. You are everything to me," Kurt said earnestly. Blaine nodded.

"I know you love me," Blaine said. "I just wish…"

"What?"

"I wish you weren't scared of me," Blaine said his voice cracking with emotion.

"Scared of you?" Kurt said frowning. "Blaine I am not scared of you."

"You told me you were Kurt and tonight… you… you told me not to touch you that… you…" Blaine trailed off his throat clogged with unshed tears.

"Oh honey! I'm not scared of you. I am scared of the situation and clearly I am not dealing with the whole Karofsky thing nearly as well as I thought I was, but I am not scared of you. You make me feel safe and loved. I trust you Blaine… with my life and my heart… with my everything." Kurt leaned down giving Blaine a gentle kiss and holding his normally strong boyfriend as he finally gave vent to the insecurities he had been dealing with for weeks. Once he'd calmed down, Blaine's concern for Kurt immediately returned.

"God I'm horrible. You're the one who has to testify and I'm the one who is a blubbering mess," Blaine said, his voice still hoarse. "Are you ok?"

"Honestly? I'm terrified Blaine," Kurt admitted.

"I know, love. It's going to be hard for you but he's going to be heavily guarded and no one is going to let him within three feet of you." Blaine said.

"He's a strong vampire, Blaine, I know from personal experience." Kurt reminded his boyfriend.

"Honey, turned vampires are nowhere near as strong as born vampires. Karofsky wouldn't dare do anything knowing the Council is watching him as well as all of the Warblers who love you." Blaine tried desperately to reassure Kurt that this would be okay, but could tell he was failing miserably.

"Do you promise that you won't let him near me?" Kurt trembled with fear.

"Kurt, there is no one who is going to get anywhere near you." Blaine answered.

"Can you explain what's going to happen?" Kurt wanted to be prepared. "I don't know if it's different in the vampire world or what."

"He gets to make a statement. There are witnesses called on both sides, but there is no jury. The Vampire Council will then look at all the evidence and make a decision. You will testify last because you are the victim and we will all be able to be in the courtroom with you. If he even looks at you funny, I will personally tear him to shreds."

"What could his punishment be?" Kurt couldn't help his morbid curiosity.

"It ranges. He could be locked up for a very long time, he could be put to death, or they could give him yet another chance to get his head out of his ass."

"Do you think that's likely that they would let him off?" Kurt was nervous.

"Dad didn't want to give him another chance after the first attack, so I don't think it's likely. I believe you should be prepared just in case, however." Blaine answered honestly.

"Does leaving the state count as being prepared?" Kurt asked.

"Kurt, you can't let him run you off again." Blaine replied.

"I prefer to think of it as protecting myself." Kurt answered wryly.

"You would really leave me?" Blaine asked brokenly. He had never thought of Kurt leaving him. It was just unfathomable. He had never realized how falling in love would make him so vulnerable

"Blaine, I was kidding. I'll never leave you. It wasn't the time and I'm sorry I'm just a wreck and not thinking clearly. As much as I want to think that the Council will do the right thing and make sure I am safe, there is a part of me that can't help but believe he's going to get off and come after me."

"You will always be safe, Kurt. I would never let anything happen to you. Even if I have to get you bodyguards to follow you everywhere you go, I will. That sadistic bastard is never getting near you again."

"Can I think about it before making a decision about testifying?" Kurt asked. "I want to talk to my dad and get his opinion on all this. It's a little overwhelming, Blaine."

"Of course, Kurt. I want you to feel comfortable with this and if you need to talk to your dad, do it." Blaine reassured him. "Take all the time you need."

*****

The rest of the week passed very awkwardly at Dalton Academy. Nick and Blaine weren't talking and Blaine barely acknowledged Wesley's presence, despite Wes' best efforts to show Blaine how sorry he was. Jeff was a manic mess torn between his friend and his boyfriend, and Kurt was a nervous wreck. By Thursday, Puck and Mike had had all they could take and convinced Thad, the only council member not directly involved in the fight, to tell Blaine, Wes, Nick, Jeff, and Kurt that there was an emergency Warblers meeting in the music room. Once all of the boys were in the room, the rest of the Warblers got up and filed out shutting and locking the door behind them and standing guard outside.

"Ok… what the hell is going on?" Blaine demanded angrily.

"It's an intervention," Puck snapped. "You all are acting like a bunch of asses and Mikey and I are tired of it."

"So Blaine is being an ass. Why do the rest of us have to be here?" Nick asked .

"You're being just as bad," Mike pointed out. "You know if anyone should be mad it's Kurt. He's scared to death and he needs all of us right now and you are so busy being mad at Blaine for something he had absolutely no control over that you have done nothing to help your friend. If anyone could get him through this it's you Nick."

"I'm not helping Kurt? What about his boyfriend who is forcing him to testify? Making him face his attacker… none of you can understand how terrifying that is. You guys all saw how sacred Kurt was on Sunday."

"Wait a second… that's what all of this is about?" Kurt asked. Puck nodded. "Oh my God no wonder Blaine has been such a wreck all week! You guys blamed him for that?"

"If you had seen yourself… how scared you were… "Nick defended himself.

"Nick I was having a panic attack. I've been seeing Dr. Atchison all week." Kurt said. He'd been quite relieved when a new counselor, who came highly recommended by Nick's dad, had joined the Dalton staff and had made full use of the woman's services all week. "It wasn't Blaine's fault. I can't believe you guys blamed him. Do you have any idea what that did to him?"

"Kurt, it's alright," Blaine said awkwardly.

"No, it's not!" Kurt replied. "How dare you blame him for this! All he did was tell me the truth. The rest of what happened was a direct result of my own fear. Jesus Nick! You are the one who told me that Blaine was incapable of hurting me! He's been beating himself up all week… afraid to even touch me. He cried himself to sleep last night!"

"Blaine," Wes said, tears in his own eyes. "I'm so… so sorry. I should have known better. You're my family. I just… Kurt was so… I'm sorry. I know you would never hurt him."

"It's ok. The whole thing has just sort of played in to my own insecurities. I just… after what happened with the rogues who killed Mom and Cooper, losing control… hurting someone I love… having people afraid of me. Those are my biggest fears and having some of the people I'm closest to accuse me of doing just that really got to me, especially because Kurt was involved."

'Oh God Blaine! I'm sorry," Nick said his face crumbling. "Seeing Kurt like that, brought everything back for me and I lashed out at you and I shouldn't have. You are one of the kindest people I know. You were there for me at the darkest time in my life and you protected me from everyone. You've always been my biggest defender. You would sooner cut off your own had than hurt Kurt. I know that… we all do."

"I'm sorry too. I should have known how all of that would make you feel and been more understanding," Blaine said, pulling Nick into a hug.

"Alright Anderson… hands off my man. Go hug your own," Jeff said. Blaine chuckled.

"So we're all good now?" Puck demanded.

"Yeah Puck we're good," Blaine said smiling.

"So umm… Kurt, what are you going to do about testifying?" Nick asked. Kurt shrugged.

"I don't know. I still haven't decided yet. I'm going to talk to my Dad about it tomorrow over dinner and see what he thinks," Kurt said. Nick nodded.

"You know whatever you decide we'll support you right Kurt?" Wes asked.

"Of course I do. You guys are my friends… my family." Kurt answered.

"Awww… Kurtie! Group hug!" Jeff declared pulling Nick towards Kurt and grabbing Blaine and Wesley too. "Come on Mike! You too Big Guy!" Shaking his head, Puck joined the group surrounding a giggling Kurt and wondering how on earth he had survived three years at McKinley without these guys.

******

Lima…

"What's up Kurt?" Burt asked. "You've been nervous and jittery since you got home. I know it's not Carole and Finn since they're out of town at a wedding. What's going on with you?"

Kurt took a deep breath. "Blaine told me that there is going to be a trial with the Council for Karofsky and they want me to testify."

"Okay." Burt proceeded cautiously. "What are you going to do? Have you made a decision?"

"I don't know if I want to face him again." Kurt admitted. "He's tried to ruin my life twice and I don't know if I can do it. What do you think I should do?"

"Kurt, no one can make this decision for you. You have to decide what you're comfortable with." Burt told his son. "You have to figure this out for yourself and do what you need to have peace of mind and closure. I want you to think about what you need and nothing else. You'll know what to do."

"Thanks Dad." Kurt smiled, closer to making a decision about what he was going to do.

****

His fiancée had been right. The Overlook at Dalton was the perfect place to go and think and it had quickly become one of Kurt's favorite places on campus after the gardens. He'd come here as soon as he had gotten back to Lima. He stared off in to the distance. He had made his decision and while it wouldn't be easy he was at peace with it. The slight crunch of leaves had him turning around to look at the man he loved.

"How did you know where I was?" Kurt was unsurprised to see his boyfriend.

"I can always find you, Kurt." Blaine answered cheekily. "Besides, you're the only human on campus and your heartbeat draws me to you."

"Cute, Anderson. Really cute," Kurt said as the dusk settled in around them. "So… I've made my decision."

"Whatever it is Kurt, we'll do it together," Blaine reminded him taking Kurt's hand in his.

"I am testifying at the trial. Karofsky doesn't get to win. I won't let him control me or my life anymore." Kurt said firmly, clasping Blaine's hand in his.

"You will be safe, Kurt." Blaine answered. "He won't be allowed near you."

"Will you be there with me?" Kurt asked.

"Of course. Always," Blaine said.


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

A/N: None of the characters contained herein belong to me..

 

"Vampires live virtually eternal lives so for us so many things pass by in moments. We strive to maintain the things which we can as we knew them in our youths, bright and unchanging. Places hold a particular importance to us, most especially our homes and the places we were born or turned."

-An excerpt from "The Vampire Psyche" by Dr. Amanda Atchison

 

Kurt was looking forward to performing with the Warblers at the Central Ohio Invitational, music had become a nice respite from the more serious problems in his life, but he couldn't deny that he was nervous. He knew New Directions would also be performing also and, even though this wasn't a competition, after what had happened last time they had performed against each other he was not expecting things to go smoothly. Blaine held tight to his hand and led Kurt backstage to wait their turn to perform.

"Well, well, well look what the bats dragged in," Rachel looked down her nose when the New Directions ran into the Warblers backstage.

"HaHaHa!" Jeff laughed loudly and falsely. "That was so clever, cause we're vampires and the whole bat thing… You do know that we can't really turn into bats right?"

"Of course I do. I'm not stupid," Rachel said snootily.

"Could have fooled me. You did, after all, let a countertenor of Kurt's caliber slip through your fingers. He gave an amazing performance at Nationals by the way, probably won the whole thing for us," Wes said smiling.

"Humph," Rachel said. "I doubt that. I can't believe you're continuing to allow someone like him in a prestigious group like yours."

"Lovely to see you as well, Rachel." Kurt said icily. He was determined to not let them put a damper on his day. He was getting stronger with Blaine and his friends behind him and he would not let someone like Rachel Berry walk all over him anymore. "I see you're still getting all your clothes from The Children's Place."

"So, think we'll get any competition from the other choirs this year?" Nick said trying to steer the conversation to less controversial subjects. They certainly didn't need to get into a fight backstage.

"Oh, please." Rachel looked affronted that someone would even consider that a possibility. "Our competition is called The Bunnies. Seriously? How can anyone be worried about them?"

"I don't know," Jeff smirked as he looked at the glares directed at the girl from her own teammates. "Personally, I'd rather be a Bunny than get beat by a Bunny…like you guys will be. They are so going to trounce you guys."

Mike laughed heartily at Jeff's remarks, earning himself a steely glare from Rachel. "Lovely to see you've changed sides so quickly, Michael."

"No, I know where my loyalties lie, Berry." Mike hissed at the girl. "I would suggest not pushing me or you will find out where that is and you may not like it." Mike firmly told her and earned himself a kiss from his girlfriend who had convinced her father that she needed to be there to cheer the boys on. She was still working on trying to convince him and her uncles that Dalton needed to go co-ed.

"I'm sorry Rachel but the stench of your cheap Avon perfume is giving me a headache. Come on guys, let's go over there," Tina said smiling brightly at Rachel. The boys all followed Tina. Puck paused to give Rachel a wink before he strolled over to the rest of the Warblers. He smirked when he saw how she blushed and got all flustered, because damn he loved making her react like that.

With an uncharacteristically girly squeal, Tina pulled Kurt into a tight hug. "Oh my God Kurt that was amazing! Children's Place! She was absolutely spluttering!"

"Yeah well, I spent three years biting my tongue as she committed countless crimes against fashion. I couldn't hold back any longer." Kurt said with an eye roll as he thought of some of Rachel's more horrifying outfits.

"Dalton has been good for you Kurt. You never would have stood up for yourself like that before. Rachel didn't know what hit her," Tina grinned.

Puck's smirk grew. "I would like to take this time to point out whose idea it was for Kurt to go to Dalton… that's right… this guy!"

"And I am grateful for that, Puck. Thank you." Kurt said. He owed Puck a debt of gratitude that he would probably never be able to pay back.

"Any time, Kurt. Any time."

Sadly their happy moment was short lived when Mercedes felt the pressing need to interrupt. She hated the way that Kurt, a human, fit in so well with the Warblers. It was wrong, out of place, and disgusting.

"I'm sorry, but I just cannot stand by and let this keep happening. Prince Blaine, Kurt is not a good fit for you. As I told you the other night at Breadstix, those of us in the community are concerned about you. You should get away from him now before he ruins your life. He's good at doing that to innocents. You need to be strong when you take over the Council, Prince Blaine, and he is nothing but a momentary weakness."

"What the hell gives you the right, you rude diva wanna-be?" Nick was livid. He couldn't help but glance over at Kurt and Blaine. Kurt looked so shell-shocked and embarrassed. It was his duty as Kurt's friend to defend him.

"I am a member of this community and I don't want him in it. He has no place being there and I know I'm not the only one who feels that way." Mercedes defended her opinions. "And we certainly intend to have our views represented at the Karofsky trial."

"She's right. He's not one of us and isn't worthy to become one." Sam nodded at his girlfriend. He fully supported anything Mercedes had said these days. He had to. Mercedes was scary when she was angry.

"Frankly, Kurt and Blaine's relationship is none of your business. Blaine's father already met and approves of him, as have the rest of the clan chiefs and The Count. If they approve, what right do you have to question their judgment? Furthermore, you certainly have no place at a trial that does not concern you in the least bit. I can assure you that you will not be allowed within 500 feet." Wes stated haughtily. "And I know my father and uncles will ensure that. So why don't you shut your overbearing mouth because no one here cares?"

"Wes…" Kurt hated how shaky his voice sounded, but the attacks were so personal and coming at him so fast.

His head was spinning and he felt himself becoming more and more upset. Nick and Jeff moved to stand next to Kurt and Blaine. Kurt was pretty sure their presence was keeping him grounded. He just couldn't afford to have a panic attack right now. He was comforted when he felt Blaine's arm circle around his waist and Nick's comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Come on guys." Artie said. "Kurt isn't at McKinley anymore, so what he does isn't our business or concern and even if it was, why can't you just let him be happy? Besides, we need to focus on the performance today. We've already lost out on Nationals because some of us couldn't get past their stupid vendetta against Kurt. Do we really want to embarrass ourselves even more?"

"Hush it, Wheels." Mercedes hissed.

Artie just sighed because he knew this wasn't going to bode well. Mercedes was determined to cause trouble and Rachel was being too quiet for a change. He looked over to where she was standing with Finn gesticulating wildly. She was just building up. He knew she would unleash in a minute.

"No, you hush it, Weave. If Porcelain is happy, then whatever trips his trigger is his business." Santana snapped.

"Kurt has a trigger?" Brittany's eyes went wide. "Where is it?"

"Oh, Brittany. I miss you." Kurt couldn't help but have a soft spot for the girl.

"I miss you too Kurtie and I'm really happy you found another dolphin to love," Brittany said throwing her arms around the startled boy.

"Dolphin?" Blaine asked not sure whether he should feel threatened by the blonde or not.

"I'll explain later," Kurt murmured.

"Listen up… Artie, Brits, and I have been talking and we have decided that we're tired of the status quo here. The pushy midget, angry weave, and gigantor have done a craptacular job of leading us to exactly zero national titles. Aside from that, they've managed to run off a good portion of the people I could actually tolerate in this little group, so from now on, performances aside, we're doing our own thing. Lady Lips, if you and Helmet Head there wanna do Breadstix some night with us holler. Chang-Chang, that goes for you too and Puck," Santana gave him a smirk and a wink. "You have my number."

"Betrayers!" Rachel screeched charging over.

"Shut your yap hobbit. What you have to say about Hummel matters to me about as much as Artie's dick."

"That's because you don't have to deal with him on a regular basis anymore," Quinn hissed. "Do any of you have any idea of what it is like to have to go to Finn's for dinner and sit across from him? I fear for my safety when I go there because of how unstable he is. He's nothing but a time bomb waiting to go off."

"Quinn is right your highness. Kurt is just using you to become one of us. He's sucking you in with his poor little wounded bird act and then he is going to pull the rug out from under you," Mercedes added.

"How dare you!" Nick was furious at the way they were treating Kurt. "This is wrong and sick and all kinds of bad things. You don't have any idea who Kurt is or who Blaine is. What they have together is right."

"We dare because it's not right for him to destroy lives and get to run around as happy as he is." Rachel snorted. "He should be punished for all of the wrong he has done. I mean, you are already tainting your school name by letting him attend."

"Destroying lives? How exactly has he destroyed your lives? Were you the one put in the hospital twice, forced to change schools, or leave your home?" Nick demanded.

"Exactly, he left he doesn't have to deal with the stigma of ever being associated with someone like him," Rachel screeched.

"Personally, I don't know how you all can sleep at night. Aren't you afraid that he will strangle you in your sleep?" Quinn asked, wide eyed and playing it up since she had a large audience. "I mean, he's seeing a psychiatrist. Surely Dalton does not approve of someone unstable in their midst. You really do need to look out for yourselves."

There were gasps from those in New Directions who had no idea. If she'd hoped to shock the Warblers with the knowledge, she'd failed miserably as they all knew and had been incredibly supportive towards him, as Nick proved with his next words.

"Oh, you mean Dr. Atchison? She's a close friend of my family and helped me through a very difficult time. I remember how helpful my own sessions were." Nick answered, letting it roll off his back because it wasn't a big deal to anyone in the Warblers. "Perhaps a few of you would do well to have some sessions with a psychiatrist, even someone in Lima."

New Directions stared in disbelief that none of the Warblers seemed shocked by Nick's admission or lack of denial from Kurt.

"Of course you would want to back Kurt." Quinn was the first to recover from Nick's statement. "I mean, we all know he's giving it up to Blaine and who knows how many of the rest of you, but sex isn't the answer and it won't solve your problems, Kurt. Disgracing yourself like that is just so unnatural. You should be ashamed of yourself. If you let us help you, things will get better. You have to be the one to take the first step though."

"Speaking from experience Quinn?" Puck snarled. He and Quinn had had a brief, but torrid, affair which had ended when she had callously dumped him for Finn. Kurt had always suspected that Puck was a lot more emotionally invested than he had ever let on, because afterwards he completely despised the cheerleader.

"Everyone makes mistakes Puckerman. You were mine, and Kurt was New Direction's. We never should have allowed him in our group. He is nothing but a social climbing, slutty little f…"

"Enough!" Blaine growled interrupting the blonde girl's rant. He had been trying to let Kurt deal with his former glee club on his own because he knew it was important to Kurt to do so, but there was only so much he could take and Quinn not only accusing his Chosen One of sleeping with pretty much everyone but daring to try to call him that word snapped his patience very quickly. "I have listened to all I intend to from you people. Kurt is my Chosen One and will soon be my mate. His life is no longer your concern and if you continue to make it so I will not hesitate to defend his honor by whatever means necessary. Ms. Jones, both Wesley and I will be reporting to the leader of your clan the reprehensible behavior you continue to exhibit. I suggest you be prepared to defend your own actions instead of worrying about defending those of Mr. Karofsky. You have approximately three seconds to remove yourselves from my sight!" Not even Rachel or Quinn were bold or stupid enough to go up against an angry prince of the Draculesti and scurried off. Mercedes sent Blaine one last glare before she spun on her heel and stalked off as well.

"Very nice, Helmet Head. You just might be worthy of Hummel. Kurt, I meant what I said, give us a call. Brits really misses her dolphin."

"I will Satan, and thanks," Kurt replied. With that the fiery Latina strolled off with Brittany, and Artie following in her wake.

"Well that was just a special treat, wasn't it?" Jeff murmured. "I do like the brunette, though. She seems fun."

"She's a bitch, but her hearts in the right place," Puck agreed.

"You okay, Kurt?" Nick asked. Kurt nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah actually I am. Oddly enough, I think that helped me get some closure. At the very least, I know for sure who my friends really were," he replied.

Blaine shook his head as New Directions filed onto the stage and launched into a predictable set list. He took Kurt's hands in his and looked into his boyfriend's sad eyes. Despite the brave face he was putting on, he knew the attitude of some of his former friends still cut Kurt deeply. He hated that New Directions could do this to the boy he loved. It made him so angry that he could have cheerfully drained every last drop of blood from all of them. He forced himself to focus on Kurt instead of his need for revenge, however, because he knew Kurt needed him.

"Kurt, I want you to go out there on that stage and sing your heart out. You matter. We matter. Rachel, Mercedes, Quinn, Finn and all their hate does not matter." Blaine said earnestly. "I want you to show everyone how strong you are and how fabulously you can sing. Don't let them steal this away from you."

"I'll try." Kurt liked how his hand fit into Blaine's and how Blaine never seemed to let go of him. He was tired of everyone else trying to destroy his happiness. He wasn't going to let them do this to him anymore. "No… I will do more than try. I am going to blow everyone away."

 

And that's exactly what Kurt and the Warblers did. They completely blew all of the other competing teams away. Kurt was ecstatic. He felt like no one could taint his happiness right now. He breezed by his former team backstage, pausing only to accept congratulations from Brittany, Santana, and Artie and completely ignoring those who had treated him so badly. He chose instead to keep his attention on the people who were his world now, laughing and joking with Nick and Jeff while trading sweet loving kisses with his boyfriend.

 

The ride back to Dalton was hopping, the Warblers celebrating both their amazing performance and New Directions' lackluster one. Kurt was sad for his friends like Santana, Brittany, and Artie, but he couldn't have cared less how Rachel, Finn, Quinn, and Mercedes felt.

"Hey you," Blaine said, giving Kurt's shoulder a light bump. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Just thinking how glad I am that Rachel and Mercedes decided to be their usual charming selves today. It made me realize how tired I am of wasting my time and energy on them. It's time to put them in the past and move on with my life… our life." Kurt answered with a smile which Blaine returned before pulling his chosen One in for a very thorough kiss as all of their friends catcalled in the background.

Kurt found it surprisingly easy to put the drama of McKinley and New Directions behind him as he and Blaine moved forward with their relationship. Before he knew it, spring break had arrived and everyone at Dalton was alive with the anticipation of the upcoming break from classes. Practically bouncing with excitement, Blaine closed his book and watched as Kurt finished up his own work.

"Spring Break is coming up." Blaine casually mentioned.

"I know. I just wish that McKinley hadn't managed to have Spring Break at the same time because now I am going to have to deal with Finn and the Pips every single day." Kurt bemoaned. "And I'm going to hate being away from you for a whole week."

"What if you didn't have to be?"

"What do you mean Blaine?" Kurt asked frowning in puzzlement.

"Since you clearly don't have other plans…" Blaine trailed off, causing Kurt to look over at him.

"What did you do, Blaine Anderson?"

"I might have mentioned the Spring Break timing to my father and he suggested a viable option." Blaine hesitantly said, hoping that he hadn't overstepped his bounds.

"Oh?" Kurt asked looking interested.

"My family has a house in New Orleans. It's the house I was born in and my father and I try to get there once or twice a year. We almost always go during Spring Break. I was really hoping that you could come with us."

"You want me to come on your family trip?" Kurt said, somewhat surprised that he would be invited to go.

"You are going to be a part of my family very soon, Kurt. I want you to get to know my father away from his official Council capacity." Blaine replied firmly.

"Wow. I'd love to say yes, but I have to talk to my dad first. I don't think he'd have a whole lot of reservations though." Kurt answered.

"Yeah, of course, call your father and talk to him." Blaine didn't want to step on his future father-in-law's toes, especially when Burt Hummel could keep them apart.

"Blaine, don't look so worried." Kurt caught the distraught look on his future spouse's face. "I'm sure it will be fine. I will call him right now to talk to him."

"Thank you." Blaine took Kurt's hand in his and kissed it. Kurt dropped a kiss on Blaine's cheek and grabbed his cell phone.

-

"Let me get this straight." Burt Hummel said. "Blaine and his father are going to New Orleans on a week-long trip for Spring Break and they want you to go too, right?"

"Yes, dad, that is right." Kurt rolled his eyes, having already answered that question several times.

"Do you want to go?" Burt couldn't help but be curious to his son's motives for asking.

"I would love to go, but if you don't like the idea, I don't have to go." Kurt wished that he was able to go home and be happy, but Finn and Carole were determined to keep that from happening. "Blaine wanted me to call and get your permission."

"As much as I want you to stay home for Spring Break and keep me company, I know it's not fair to expect you to stay in this house with Finn and Carole. So yes, you can go." Burt answered, chuckling at his son's happy squeal. "I hope you have a good time, son. Just behave yourself, listen to Mr. Anderson, and bring me back something interesting."

"I will. I promise and thank you Daddy." Kurt grinned as he hung up his phone and turned to look at Blaine. "What should I pack?" With a happy whoop of excitement, Blaine picked Kurt up, twirling him around.

"Yes!" Blaine cheered. "This is going to be amazing. You are going to love New Orleans and Black Oak Manor is… let's just say I think you'll approve."

"Ooo… Black Oak Manor… that sounds so dark and mysterious," Kurt grinned.

"Oh it is" Blaine answered, already planning a few activities at the manor. "Just pack casual clothes and maybe one or two nice outfits for the week since we'll actually be spending most of our time at the house probably."

"Just the house, Blaine? If I'm going to be in New Orleans, I want to see the city." Kurt said.

"Honey, the house will be as interesting as the city, trust me, but don't worry we'll see the city, we just won't be there as much as the house. Oh and since we're flying commercial this trip, you have to pack light."

"Commercial?" Kurt asked. "What about that wonderful private plane?"

"That private plane has to stay here in case the Council needs to fly out somewhere. We got special permission to take it to New York since you were still recovering."

"Oh," Kurt said. "Well, I guess I can pack light and if I need to, I can always steal space in your luggage. Do you realize how much space socks actually take up, Blaine?"

"Funny Kurt," Blaine answered sticking out his tongue at his giggling fiancée.

\-----

"If we're flying commercial, why are we at the private gate?" Kurt asked several days later as they waited at the airport to board the plane. He had been curious the minute Blaine had led him through the door marked private.

"Slight change in plans. Since he is going to have to have his staff with him, Dad decided to rent a commercial plane for all of us that are going." Blaine answered, guiding Kurt over to one of the comfortable sofas.

"His staff? Just how big is this staff?" Kurt asked.

"It's pretty extensive, Kurt. It takes a lot of people to run just our clan and since Dad is also the High Chief of the Council he's technically over seeing all three clans. We're never away from it, even on vacation." Blaine answered, covertly studying Kurt's reaction to the news. This was something Kurt, as his mate, would have to get used to.

"Are they all staying at the house?" Kurt asked, trying hard not to let his fear of unfamiliar vampires get the best of him. He was getting better, but the idea of so many strangers was unsettling. He knew it was something he would have to deal with, however, as it was part and parcel to being with Blaine.

"No, only the house staff and bodyguards are allowed to stay on the grounds since they pretty much live there." Blaine answered. "My father reserved rooms for the others at the local hotels and you won't see them at the house at all since my father does not conduct business there… Grandmere's rules."

"Oh, okay." Kurt said, feeling more comfortable with the situation.

"This is what it's like with the Anderson's when we all travel together." Blaine said, hoping that Kurt could ease into this craziness that was life with him. When he was in charge of the coven and Council, this is what they'd be dealing with, together.

"It's a little overwhelming Blaine, but I can handle it, so get that worried look off your face." Kurt confidently said, knowing things would be easier when it was their hand-picked assistants traveling with them.

"I'm glad to hear that." Blaine smiled, pleased at how receptive Kurt was to all of this.

"So, seven bodyguards?" Kurt asked. "Isn't that a little much?"

"Five cover my father and one for each of us. Puck is your assigned bodyguard for this trip and he takes his job very seriously, so I would like you to listen to any suggestions he gives and follow them just like in New York. It is for your safety, Kurt. This is just a minimum that we're traveling with. The rest will meet us at the airport in New Orleans since we will be under guard 24-7, although you probably won't even know they're there."

"Why would I not know they're there, Blaine? Bodyguards seem like they'd be hard to miss." Kurt said.

"Oh, our bodyguards are very good at being discrete and unseen for the most part. I mean, you didn't notice any of the ones in New York."

"They were in New York?" Kurt asked. "I thought we only had Puck."

"Kurt, did you really think that two princes and several lords not to mention my Chosen One would be allowed to wander the streets of New York without some serious protection?"

"I guess not" Kurt was in shock. "I just didn't notice, but wait what about backstage at the competition?"

"They were out front in the audience. Unless they're needed, they stay in the background." Blaine said, pulling Kurt up to board the flight. "Come on. We're in first class with Dad."

With an excited grin, Kurt followed Blaine down the jet way and into their plane. They were soon buckled into their seats and taking off. The flight was fairly calm and the boys were left mostly to themselves as Nathaniel and a few of his closest advisors tended to business. Not long before their expected arrival time, Blaine's father and a tall, good looking blonde man came to talk with Kurt and Blaine.

"Kurt," Nathaniel said, sitting down in the seats directly across from him and Blaine. "This is the Council's press secretary and he'd like to talk to you for a minute if you don't mind." Kurt nodded his agreement and the other vampire, rather than sitting leaned against a nearby seat.

"Hi Kurt. I'm Michael Sterling. I've heard a lot about you from my son Jeff," the man said extending his hand and giving Kurt a sunny smile which made the father son resemblance immediately apparent.

"Hello Lord Sterling," Kurt smiled. "It's very nice to meet the man who brought the world Jeff." Lord Sterling chuckled.

"He is something isn't he?" he grinned, before turning more business-like. "Now Kurt, the reason I've asked to talk to you is because, with New Orleans being the center of such a large vampire population, the press will undoubtedly be there when we arrive. I know this is all new to you, so I wanted to give you kind of a heads up of what you can expect. Ok?"

"Ok," Kurt agreed, somewhat nervously.

"First of all, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. You can just smile and wave if that's what you're comfortable with, however, at some point this is something you'll have to be prepared to do. There will be a lot of shouting, but I don't want you to feel pressured to make a statement if you're uncomfortable."

"Okay." Kurt could only hope dealing with the press this time wouldn't be anything like the altercation at the mall.

"If you do decide to answer questions, you don't have to answer them all, and try to keep your answers short and friendly. Most importantly though, remember to smile and stay with Blaine and your bodyguard. That's pretty much it."

"Ok… I can do this," Kurt said sounding a lot more sure of himself than he felt.


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine

"His Royal Highness Prince Blaine Anderson arrived in our city this evening with his Chosen One, Mr. Kurt Hummel. Prince Blaine, whose mother was late and beloved society belle Evangeline Hughes Anderson, was clearly enamored of his handsome mate to be, a charming young human who, one can hope, will bring a sense of style and flair back to the royal family which hasn't been seen since the Queen's passing some fourteen years ago."

-an excerpt from the society page of The Times Picayune

 

Kurt was more than a little nervous as they landed in New Orleans and taxied to the terminal. He had, other than his disastrous experience at the mall, never had to deal with the press before, but he knew this was something he would have to get used to as Blaine's mate.

"You ok?" Blaine asked. Kurt nodded, as they were given the go ahead to disembark. Kurt clutched Blaine's hand tightly following Lord Sterling and Nathaniel, very conscious of the wall of bodyguards surrounding the small group.

"Here we go," Blaine murmured pasting on a smile and stepping off the jet way and into the gate area. The questions began almost immediately.

"Prince Blaine, is he the one? Is this your Chosen One?" A woman shouted at them.

Blaine turned and smiled at Kurt before acknowledging the reporter's question. "Yes, this is Kurt Hummel, my Chosen One." 

"Why did you bring him here? Are you on a romantic getaway?" More reporters shouted.

"I would hardly think it's a romantic getaway with my father accompanying us. I have brought Kurt to our ancestral home to share our history with him." Blaine remarked, his smile kept firmly in place on his face.

"King Nathaniel! King Nathaniel, what do you think of your only son choosing a human as a mate? How do you answer accusations by the Order of Akasha amongst others that you and your son are trying to erase those qualities which make us vampires by muddying our bloodlines with humans?"

"I am pleased that my son has chosen such a worthy mate. I wouldn't care if he was human, vampire, or flying monkey, as long as he makes Blaine happy and will be good for our community and, rest assured, he will be. As far as the naysayers go, I defy them to find a vampire bloodline that didn't include some human DNA somewhere. My own line was founded by not one but two turned vampires. Kurt is amazingly strong, intelligent, caring young man. Adding him to our bloodline will only strengthen it," Nathaniel said smiling for the cameras and placing a fatherly arm around Kurt's shoulders.

"Kurt! Kurt!" The press hungrily turned their attention to the human boy between the King and the Prince

"How do you feel about being turned? What does your family think of your decision?"

"Many believe humans and vampires shouldn't mate. Are you prepared to deal with that? How can you leave behind your loving family in Lima?"

"Is there any truth to your rumored affair with David Karofsky? Are you worried that your lover will be upset now that you are leaving him behind for a much better catch in the Prince?"

"Are you just going to be a blood whore for the family?"

"Are you excited to be here in New Orleans?" A kindly reporter asked above the din.

"My father adores Prince Blaine and is thrilled that I'm so happy with him. And of course, yes, I am thrilled to be here with Blaine. New Orleans is a beautiful city and I'm anxious to explore." Kurt smiled and allowed Blaine to lead him away from the appeased press, while Jeff's father stepped forward to field more questions.

"You did great with them, Kurt." Blaine praised.

"It was a wise decision to ignore the rumors about Karofsky. Don't worry about them; I will have Michael get on that right away, if he's not already." Nathaniel added. 

"Thank you. Are we getting our luggage now?"

"The guards will get it for us. We are going to the car and then through the city for you to see a few things." Blaine said.

"This is going to be so cool." Kurt bounced through the airport. "We have to do a ghost tour, Blaine."

"Really, Kurt?" Blaine raised an eyebrow at his Chosen One. "We've got enough haunted stuff at the house, so I don't think you'll need to do a ghost tour through the city."

"Your house is haunted?" Kurt excitedly asked.

"If you believe Grandmere Genevieve it is. Personally I don't, but I can tell you plenty of ghost stories about the grounds, if you want. I guarantee it will put some curl in that hair of yours." Blaine teased his Chosen One. Kurt giggled.

"You're a vampire who doesn't believe in ghosts. You do realize that's more than a little ironic right?"

"What can I say? I dare to be different," Blaine grinned, pecking Kurt on the lips as they exited the airport.

Kurt was a little surprised at all the flashes suddenly going off. Blaine automatically pulled away and pasted on a very polite, very false smile which Kurt was coming to think of as his boyfriend's public smile. Taking a deep breath, Kurt hastily followed Blaine's lead, smiling and nodding in acknowledgement to the gathered paparazzi. Kurt had assumed that all the press had been inside, but that was apparently not the case. Blaine gently prodded him toward the car, getting in after Kurt. Nathaniel followed as the mountainous vampire who was Nathaniel's guard shut the door behind them.

 

As they drove through the city, Kurt watched excitedly through the window of the limo while Blaine and his father pointed out places like Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, the French Market, and St. Louis Cemetery #1 which Nathaniel told him was the resting place of Marie Laveau the legendary voodoo queen of New Orleans. Kurt was a little surprised at the large number of places they passed which catered to vampires and said as much.

"New Orleans has one of the largest populations of vampires in the world, love," Blaine pointed out. "They've always been very welcoming to us here, even when most people thought us a myth."

"If it has such a large population of vampires, and since you own property here, how did the base for the High Council end up in Ohio of all places?" Kurt asked with a frown.

"First of all, Ohio is merely where the North American Council Chambers is located. We also have a place in Europe, and one in Asia. We move our seat of power every ten years. It's a tradition started when we were still hiding ourselves but we've continued it because it allows us better access to all of the vampires under our dominion. As far as Ohio, the largest populations of vampires living in North America are in New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Toronto. We wanted somewhere that was somewhat central to all of those and, because we were still trying to be discrete at the time, where no one would expect to find vampires… thus Ohio. In fact before the Plague and the Reveal, we worked out of Dalton which has always been a school for our kind" Nathaniel answered.

"I never realized all of this." Kurt answered. "I guess Ohio is sort of the last place you'd expect to find something out of the ordinary like that."

"It is refreshingly normal," Nathaniel smiled showing the tips of his fangs. "I've loved it there since my Dalton days."

"You went to Dalton sir?" Kurt asked in surprise. Nathaniel nodded, chuckling.

"I certainly did… many years ago. Duncan Hughes, Andrew Chang, Michael Sterling, Jeff's other father Jensen, and I were all in the same year. We may or may not have been the reason that they had to remodel parts of the school after we graduated," he said his eyes twinkling with a mischief Kurt would not have thought him capable of. "This one time we…"

"Dad," Blaine said, looking slightly panicked in the way all teenagers do when they are worried their parents are going to do something truly embarrassing. Nathaniel chuckled.

"Fine son. I won't tell Kurt my Dalton stories. In fact I will sit here and quietly look over some reports I have been putting off, but before I forget to tell you… I have ordered a daily supply from Coralline's this week. It's just so much more convenient than having to go to town every day."

"A daily supply of what?" Kurt asked.

"Um…" Blaine wasn't sure how to explain the daily delivery without weirding Kurt out.

Nathaniel saw how awkward his son looked at his Chosen One's question and took it upon himself to answer. "Blaine, you shouldn't be hiding who you are from Kurt. This is part of our life and he needs to be able to accept it. Coralline's is a local supplier of blood. I've known the family for years."

"I see." Kurt answered. "Blaine, your father is right. It's not like I don't know what you are and what you need to survive. It's like those stupid water bottles at Dalton. It's not like I don't know what you are drinking." He sent his future mate a scathing look that had no heat behind it.

"I just don't want to make you uncomfortable," Blaine said.

"And how am I supposed to get comfortable with it if you keep hiding parts of yourself from me Blaine?" Kurt demanded much to Nathaniel's delight. He was very glad to see Kurt was accepting, or at least attempting to accept, all that Blaine was. "I mean it's not like I hide from you when I'm eating a salad."

" Which reminds me," Nathaniel interjected. "I've taken the liberty of making sure that the kitchen is stocked with anything you might need for the week. While we don't eat the way you do, we have a completely modernized kitchen with all the bells and whistles for the use of the house staff and any guest such as yourself."

"Thank you." Kurt nodded, glad that he wouldn't have to go out every day so he could eat.

The car pulled off the main road and down a driveway lined with what had to be hundred year old trees. It gave Kurt an impression of foreboding darkness since the trees almost seemed to block out the sun and the light. Blaine turned to his Chosen One.

"The driveway is long to keep looky-loos from getting too close to the house. Grandmere likes her privacy." He explained hastily.

"Looky-loos? You sound very southern all of a sudden Blaine," Kurt giggled. Blaine smirked.

"I am very southern Kurt. I was born in this house and Mama's family is one of the oldest in New Orleans. I am a proper southern gentleman, despite my Yankee father and upbringing," Blaine said his voice slipping into the slow smooth southern drawl effortlessly

"If the driveway looks like this, I have to assume the grounds are just as exquisite. How do you keep strangers out?" Kurt asked trying to ignore exactly how sexy Blaine sounded when talked like that

"We have a very advanced security system for this property, although not many people have ever been stupid enough to broach the house without an invitation because of all of the legends which surround the place. They tend to keep all but the heartiest souls away." Nathaniel answered with a wry smile.

"Legends?" Kurt asked quirking his eyebrow.

"My mate's family wasn't always as civilized as they are now Kurt. They hunted the swamps and back alleys of New Orleans for years before turning to other sources for their needs. There are countless stories in the city of mysterious disappearances of those unwary enough to cross Genevieve Blaine Hughes or to come uninvited into her lands," Nathaniel replied. Kurt's eyes were wide by the time Blaine's father finished speaking and his heart was beating rapidly.

"That's umm…" Kurt stuttered. Blaine squeezed his Chosen One's hand.

"Relax Kurt. Grandmere hasn't hunted in over a hundred years and she isn't at Black Oak right now anyway," Blaine reassured him. Just then they turned a corner and the house came into view.

"Oh Blaine! It's beautiful," Kurt's eyes widened as the long driveway seemed to fade away to reveal a gorgeous house which looked like it had come straight out of Gone With the Wind complete with a huge veranda and the white marble columns, except instead of cotton fields the house was surrounded by the rich greens and grays of the Louisiana bayou..

"Welcome to Black Oak Manor Kurt." Blaine laughed.

"Blaine that is… it's… beautiful." Kurt repeated staring up at the plantation style home.

"If you think this is amazing, just wait until you see the inside." Blaine replied. When the car stopped, Blaine got out and gallantly offered Kurt his arm, leading him up the stairs and into the house in a manner which would have made his very proper grandmother proud.

"I feel like I've stepped into Gone With The Wind." Kurt said as he stared at the gorgeous staircase. "Or maybe Interview With the Vampire."

"Only you, Kurt." Blaine laughed as they stood in the foyer of the house and Kurt spun around, looking at everything.

"You have servants?" Kurt asked when their luggage was spirited up to their room, nearly squealing in delight as he lightly ran his hands up the banister of the double sided marble staircase.

"Of course." Blaine answered. "We don't live here full time, so we need people that we trust taking care of the house and the grounds when we aren't here. This house has been in my mother's family for generations and it's very important to us. Would you like to see your room and then explore before we have dinner?"

"Yes, please." Kurt allowed his boyfriend to lead him up the stairs and down a hallway, stopping at the very end. Kurt was not surprised to see a large window with a window seat. He could see himself curling up there on a rainy day with a book. 

Blaine opened the door to the left revealing an elegantly decorated room. "You have a bathroom through there that opens to the other room that just happens to be mine." He couldn't resist winking at Kurt when he said that.

"That's convenient." Kurt smirked.

"My father thought you would be more comfortable being close to me, since this is all new for you." Blaine answered. "Besides, it makes the bodyguard's jobs easier having us near each other. Plus, my father didn't want to make assumptions, but…" He trailed off.

"It is lovely." Kurt smiled and happy that he was so close to Blaine and if they just happened to only use one bed, so be it. "Just being here is so amazing."

Kurt felt like he was on the set of a historical romance movie or had actually stepped back in time to the Old South... The room that was his for the week contained an old fashioned brass bed. There was a gorgeous and, Kurt was certain, hand-made lace coverlet over the bed and matching lace curtains were blowing in the breeze from an open window. It was possibly the most beautiful room he had ever seen and he loved it on sight.

"Would you like to see the rest of the house now? There are quite a few things I'd like to show you." Blaine asked when Kurt was done admiring the room.

"I want to see everything." Kurt said as Blaine took his hand and led him down the great staircase.

"The first place I want to show you is the formal living room. This is where the family used to gather at the end of the day or for formal functions. There are doors in it that can be opened into the ballroom. When my mother was alive she used to hold a lot of parties in this house." Blaine slid open the pocket door and led Kurt into the large room.

"Is that your mother?" Kurt asked, looking at a huge oil painting of a woman that hung over the fireplace. She had long dark hair which hung in beautiful ringlets down her back. Her eyes were a gorgeous, familiar hazel. She looked incredibly like Blaine; or rather Blaine looked incredibly like her.

"Yes, it is," Blaine smiled. "This was her family's home and it will one day be mine."

"Really? This will be our house someday? What about Wesley? Isn't his dad your Mom's older brother? How does the house end up going to you?"

"When my grandparents decided to retire, Uncle Duncan, as the oldest boy inherited Grandpa Beau's family home. Mama was the oldest girl so this is hers. In my mother's will, this house was bequeathed to me when I come of age and am ready to move out. Cooper was supposed to receive things from Dad's side but now…" Blaine answered, trailing off. "Anyway, I love the house and want it to stay in the family. It's a part of me I think. I've always dreamed of it being my home someday when I'm much, much older, who knows if that will actually happen though. I guess I just have to wait and see."

"Why wouldn't we want to live here?" Kurt asked.

"You mean that? You'd want to live here? Raise a family here?" Blaine asked.

"Sweetie, this house is amazing and there's such a history here. It's like you can feel it as you move through each room. I've been here less than an hour and I've already fallen in love with it," Kurt said.

"I know what you mean. I just didn't want to make assumptions Kurt. This place is home. I love it here. I've always felt that way, but, just so you know, not all of the house's history is pleasant," Blaine reminded his Chosen One.

"Oh yes the dark history of Black Oak Manor. You promised you'd tell me the ghost stories you know?" Kurt was interested in everything to do with Blaine's family.

"We can talk about that later. There are other things I want to show you in the house." Blaine took Kurt's hand once more and led him down the hall to a room that had a variety of pictures in a menagerie of frames that littered every surface. "This is the portrait gallery. Every family member is represented in here."

"Blaine, some of these photos are tin types." Kurt stared at all of the photos with awe…this was his mate's family and one day would be his as well.

"I told you we had a long family history." Blaine grinned.

"Look its Wes and Tina and is that Jeff? Oh my God! Blaine is that you? You were adorable! Look at those curls!" Kurt squealed smiling as he turned to Blaine to find his fiancee's unusually sober gaze locked on a gorgeous black and white print in a scrolled silver frame.

The smile died on Kurt's face and he slipped a comforting arm around his love's waist. The photo, sitting elegantly in its frame, was of Blaine as a small child being held by his laughing mother. A boy with a roguish smile held onto a proudly smiling Nathaniel's hand.

"Your family." Kurt breathed out softly.

"This is the last photo of us together." Blaine quietly said. "My mother and brother were killed two days later by the rogues."

"I'm so sorry Blaine. This is a beautiful photo though. You can see in her eyes how much she loved you," Kurt murmured squeezing Blaine's hand tightly and leaning his head on his shoulder.

"I hope I've made her proud," Blaine said, choked with emotion. Kurt's heart broke at the forlorn note in his love's voice.

"Oh Blaine, I know she's proud of you, just like I am. How could she not be?" Kurt asked. Blaine pulled Kurt into a hug, burying his face in the crook of Kurt's neck and inhaling deeply.

"Thank you." He said shakily, before pulling away and walking them down the hall to another room. Kurt watched him frowning in concern at his soon to be mate's rapid change of mood.

"Now, this is the library where fine Southern gentlemen went to partake in private activities." Blaine said, sliding open a door to reveal a fine collection of books and an even finer collection of alcohol. He was trying to be cheerful, but every note rang false in Kurt's ears, nevertheless, he decided to play along, hoping Blaine would talk to him about it when he was ready.

Kurt looked at the titles in the library. "Blaine, I think some of these are first editions."

"Probably. I just never paid much attention to them." Blaine said with a shrug. "When we were here, I was usually too busy running the grounds and exploring with all of my cousins."

Kurt was in shock that his boyfriend was treating the fortune in this room so casually. "Blaine, these are worth a fortune. I'm not sure I should even be in the same room as them."

"Kurt, they're just books. Books like any other books. If you want to read them, great, if not, no big deal." Blaine said. Kurt's eyes widened at Blaine's somewhat harsh words, having never seen this side of his fiancée. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"Blaine, I don't think starting a week with drinking bodes well for either of us. You know, I can't hold my alcohol that well." Kurt reminded him. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Would you like to get out of the house and see some of the grounds?" Blaine asked, obviously not yet ready to share what was bothering him.

"Sure." Kurt agreed watching the other boy warily. He wanted to explore the gorgeous expanse of estate, but even more than that, he wanted to distract Blaine from whatever was bothering him.

-

"Does Puck have to follow us around, even on the grounds?" Kurt asked hoping to have some privacy to talk.

"I just want to make sure you're safe, so yes, Puck will be sticking to us anytime we are outside of the house, but he's done this for a long time, Kurt. He knows when to keep his distance and give us the privacy that we want." Blaine explained. "I mean, if we were to just start ripping each other's clothes off and having sex right here, he would make sure we were safe but still be discrete and gives us the privacy we needed."

"Blaine!" Kurt blushed a deep red. "We will not be having sex for the first time outside or in front of Puck."

"Thank God for that," Puck muttered. Blaine shot him a glare.

"Not my point. The House Guard is well trained in their duties and very discrete. You're going to have to get used to it. Come on there's more to see" Blaine said, not bothering to wait for Kurt but striding away.

"Don't let anything he says get to you Porcelain. This place is difficult for him sometimes," Puck said, guiding him down the path towards Blaine. Kurt allowed him to do so, unsure of how to deal with this side of Blaine. He glanced over at Puck and saw how tense the other boy was, his eyes trained on Blaine and Kurt got the impression that he understood what was going on far better than Kurt did.

"This garden is amazing." Kurt said tentatively. He was in awe of the blooming flowers in brilliant colors in the very center of which stood a white marble angel.

"My father had this specially created to remember my mother. This is her memorial garden. The statue is to represent the angel she was to my father." Blaine explained.

"Oh." Kurt quietly said, stepping back as Blaine touched the statue in a quiet moment of reflection. He figured this for Blaine was like his mother's headstone was for him. It was starting to make sense to him now.

"Crap," Puck muttered coming up to stand next to Kurt. "I hate this part. It happens at least once, every time he comes home." Puck sighed, watching Blaine with a sad look in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"His mom… He'll be fine tomorrow, but tonight he's gonna need you," Puck said, giving Kurt a nudge and nodding towards Blaine. Biting his lip, Kurt took a hesitant step forward and placed a gentle hand on Blaine's shoulder. With a deep shudder, Blaine turned burying his face in Kurt's chest and giving vent to the grief he felt for the mother he never really knew. Between the two of them, Puck and Kurt somehow got Blaine to his room and into bed, Kurt climbing in alongside him.

He held Blaine the rest of the night as they lay in bed sharing stories of their childhood. Blaine told Kurt about the memories he had of his mother and the stories he had collected of her from other people. Kurt thought he would have liked Evangeline Anderson very much. In return, Kurt talked to Blaine about his mother. All of his memories of her, how she died, how he and his father had coped and grown so much closer because it had been just the two of them. As midnight approached and Blaine and Kurt began to drift to sleep in each other's arms, both boys realized that they had become even closer, their bond even more unbreakable, and they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were meant to be.


	30. Chapter Thirty

"The city of New Orleans is home to the largest and oldest vampire community in the New World. As amongst its human inhabitants, the vampire residents of the area share a rich mix of cultures and traditions, as well as a bloody and rather gruesome history. From that of Colonel Jedidiah Blaine whose first act upon being turned was to kill almost his entire family to the rooming house of Miss Coralline Devereux who used her considerable feminine wiles to seduce unwary young gentlemen into becoming her 'donors', New Orleans history never fails to send chills down the spines of those seeking a thrill."

-an excerpt from "The Bloody History of the New Orleans Vampire Community" by Aurora Simmons-Hughes

 

Blaine woke up the next morning more or less back to his old self just as Puck had predicted. He and Kurt chatted happily as they got ready for the day and made their way down to the kitchen for breakfast. Blaine grabbed a bottle out of the fridge, heating it for a few moments in the microwave, while Kurt quickly whipped up a ham and cheese omelet.

"So Mr. Anderson, what is our plan for today?" Kurt asked forking a bite of his food.

"I thought maybe you would like to go into town," Blaine responded.

"Really?" Kurt perked up at the idea of getting to explore New Orleans.

"Of course. I want you to see some of the places I like to hang out." Blaine said.

"I do need to get a gift for my father for allowing me to come here." Kurt mentioned.

"I also looked at the weather forecast for the rest of the week and they are forecasting rain, so I know you wouldn't want to have to go out in that." Blaine said.

"Good planning, honey. We can go as soon as I'm finished." Kurt said.

"Follow me. I have another surprise for you." Blaine said, taking Kurt's hand and leading him to the stables once Kurt had finished eating and was ready to go.

"I didn't know you had horses."

"We don't. Animals, particularly horses, tend to be very skittish around us, so we had this converted to a much more functional place. It's now home to a pastime shared by both my father and I." Blaine said, flinging the door open and the lights on.

Kurt stepped into the building and it took his breath away. "My father will never believe this without pictures." Kurt laughingly said as he aimed his phone around the room taking in all of the cars.

Blaine loved watching Kurt flit from car to car, gingerly touching each one and admiring it.

Kurt ran his hand over the hood of a vintage Porsche, admiring the clean lines of the car. He moved through the rows of automobiles, admiring the authentic Model T, the brilliant white Jaguar, a sleek black Lamborghini, and the other top of the line cars.

"I can't believe you don't have a whole garage of these cars in Lima." Kurt said.

"We have a few, but the weather is pretty limiting to what kinds of cars we can have and I'm usually hauling friends and stuff around in my SUV, but I will have you know that there is a very sexy little convertible in the garage for when the weather gets warmer."

"And we will be taking it out, Blaine." Kurt smirked.

"I'd planned on it. We can take one or two of these out for a drive much sooner than that." Blaine teased. "I was even thinking of driving one today."

"I like that plan." Kurt beamed, seeing himself in any one of the cars in the garage.

"This is my favorite one." Blaine ran a hand over the hood of a candy apple red 1965 Mustang Fastback. The black leather interior gleamed with the proof of a well-cared for car. "This was my mother's car. It's been my car of choice since I got my license. I can't have it in Westerville because the weather would not be kind to this baby."

"Can we take it today?" Kurt asked. "I mean, you said it was your favorite car."

"Of course." Blaine said.

"Aww man!" Puck chimed into the conversation. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to squeeze into the back seat of that thing?"

"Quit whining Puck. You can follow us in the Lamborghini." Blaine grinned. "And don't even pretend like that wasn't what you wanted to do anyway!"

"Sweet! I love you man! I will follow you guys into town then, but no trying to lose me, Anderson." Puck ordered.

"Like I could Puck. You'll be driving the lambo," Blaine chuckled as opened the Mustang's door for Kurt.

"We'll park here. Miss Coralline knows our cars and she won't mind," Blaine said as pulled into a spot in the small parking area of the vampire establishment. He climbed out of the car and opened the door for Kurt as Puck roared into the spot beside him in the Lamborghini, hopping out with a huge grin on his face.

"I love you dude! Like seriously… I love you," Puck said.

"Mine Puckerman!" Kurt said tucking his arm possessively around Blaine's.

"Sorry Puck," Blaine grinned before turning back to Kurt. "So… where shall we start?"

"Oh! Can we go to those stores over there? They look interesting." Kurt said as he looked around at the inviting little stores that looked exactly what he had expected traditional New Orleans to look like.

"Whatever you want Kurt as long as we can skip the voodoo store, though." Blaine said as he guided Kurt past the storefront. "That place has always given me the creeps."

As they approached the crowds of shoppers, Kurt was a little shocked at how easily they made it through, the crowds seeming to part for them. At first he assumed it was because of Puck's hulking presence until he saw a couple of the vampires in the crowd bowing as they passed.

"Prince Blaine." One of them murmured.

Blaine acknowledged them with a nod and a smile, barely seeming to notice. Kurt was slightly shocked. He couldn't believe how regally his boyfriend was being treated. He had known that Blaine was the Prince and would sit on the Council one day, but between the press yesterday and the way people were bowing and stepping back today, it really hit him for the first time that he was more than just his Blaine. He was the Crown Prince of the Draculesti.

"Are you okay?" Blaine whispered.

"Just a little overwhelmed."

"Do you want to go back to the house?" Blaine asked. As their bond grew, he was becoming more and more attuned to Kurt's every need and he could sense Kurt's unease.

"No, I need to get that gift for my father since we probably won't be back in town the rest of the week because of the forecast." Kurt pushed on, walking down an aisle and finding some gorgeous, but typical New Orleans goods. "I would also like to find something for the guys."

"If it helps, I know for a fact that Nick absolutely loves Pralines. It's one of the only foods he'll willingly eat."

"Why Blaine Anderson, if you aren't the spittin' image of your mama. She would be so proud to see what a fine young man you've become." The boys were interrupted by a lush looking red-head who bustled up to Blaine grabbing him and wrapping him in a suffocating hug.

"Thank you Miss Amelia," Blaine acknowledged as the woman finally released him.

"It's been so long Blaine. My how you've grown," the woman said looking him up and down.

"Yes ma'am. I think I was thirteen the last time I saw you, just before they caught Percival Simmons," Blaine said. Miss Amelia shuddered.

"Such a horrid man… and what he did to Evangeline and poor Cooper. He deserved exactly what you did to him Blaine, don't you feel guilty about that in the least," Amelia said, putting a somewhat motherly hand to Blaine's cheek. "Now, how have you been cher? Enjoying that fancy school up north?"

"Yes ma'am. Dalton has been wonderful. I'm really happy there. And how have you been?" Blaine asked turning the subject away from him.

"Oh right as rain considering how old these bones are getting. And who is this handsome young man sweetie? Blaine Anderson! You have not taken up with one of those blood wh…" The woman whispered, aghast.

"No, no, no. I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I should have introduced him sooner. This is my Chosen One, Kurt Hummel. Kurt this is Miss Amelia Hayes, an old friend of Mama's," Blaine interrupted, putting his arm proudly around Kurt.

"Oh, you've found the one, Blaine! Why darlin' that's just wonderful. I saw something in the paper, but you never know if what those rags say is true or not. This is just so exciting sweetheart! I remember when Evangeline and her prince met. They were so in love and now look at you… her little boy all grown up with a love of his own. Are you gonna have a mating ceremony to make it all official?"

"Sometime very soon, and don't worry I promise you'll be invited," Blaine answered non-committedly. He didn't want to say anything that might upset Kurt right now. This was supposed to be a vacation. They were not going to spend it worrying about the future.

"Well aren't you just the cutest thing!" Amelia gushed at Kurt. "And look at those eyes. My he's a handsome one Blaine. You Hughes always did capture the best looking ones. You know I had my sights set on your daddy when he came to New Orleans for the first time with your Uncle Duncan, but once he spotted Evangeline, he never had eyes for anyone else so I settled on just being her maid of honor. I still miss your Mama every day. Such a tragedy what happened."

"Yes ma'am it was," Blaine agreed.

"Well, I won't keep you sweetheart but you make sure you invite me to that ceremony, and tell your Daddy I said hi. You've found a lovely mate, darlin'. I'm sure everyone in the community will welcome him with open arms. Bye now." The woman slipped quietly away.

"That was… "Kurt trailed off unable to quite put words to what had just happened. Blaine chuckled.

"My dad calls her hurricane Amelia. She was my mom's best friend. In fact, Mom turned her when they were teenagers because she didn't ever want to have to leave her behind. That was before vampires had come out into the open. From what I understand, they were pretty much inseparable until Dad came along," Blaine said, ushering Kurt towards the register to make his purchases so they could move on to the next store.

After several hours and countless stores, Kurt had only managed to find a couple of boxes of sugared pecans and walnuts for himself, a t-shirt for Jeff, and a box of pralines for Nick. Just when he was about to give up on the perfect gift for his Dad, he spotted a small shop out of the corner of his eye.

"In here, Blaine." Kurt tugged his intended into the wonderfully cozy little art gallery. Blaine watched as Kurt looked at a variety of photography that was on display. "This one. This is the one for my dad."

Blaine and Puck peered over Kurt's shoulder to see what he had found. It was a delightful photo of, much to Blaine's surprise, Black Oak Manor that showed off the property in all its Southern glory. He knew the picture hadn't been authorized, and he would be discussing it with his father, nevertheless he decided to purchase it for Kurt.

"We will take this." Blaine nodded to the owner who had been watching all three of them with cautious eyes. He gave the man a level gaze before saying, "I'm certain it's one of a kind."

"Yes. Yes sir. It's absolutely the only one I'll sell. Enjoy your purchase your highness." The clerk stuttered.

Kurt smiled as he walked down the sidewalk with Blaine on the way back to their car. It had been an amazing day and he was about ask Blaine if they could stay in town for dinner when a sign in a storefront caught his eye and he pulled Blaine to a stop.

"Look! It's a psychic. I've always wanted to do that. Can we do that, please, Blaine?"

"Kurt, seriously?" Blaine looked at his boyfriend. "You know those people are all fake, right?"

"Wait a minute…a vampire is telling me that a psychic is fake? Didn't everyone believe that you were fake once upon a time? First ghosts and now psychics… where is your faith Blaine Anderson?"

"I didn't necessarily say that all psychics are fake Kurt, just the ones who get paid for it. All these people will do is steal your money and tell you what they think you want to hear."

"It's only five bucks, it's not going to break my budget."

"If you insist on doing this, I will pay for it." Blaine said.

"Good. Then let's go in."

"Ok, but don't blame me if it's a complete waste of time love," Blaine agreed.

When they entered the shop, the air was heavy with the smell of incense. Candles were placed around the room, casting shadows across the walls. Grinning, Kurt dragged Blaine up to the counter where a woman who was dressed in a gauzy purple dress, which Kurt would normally have considered a serious crime against fashion, stood regarding them with a steady gaze, Kurt couldn't quite suppress the shudder which ran through him, but walked to the counter anyway.

"I'd like a reading, please." he said.

"Are you sure you want to know what your future holds?" The woman's eyes seemed to bore into his very soul.

"Yes, I most certainly do." Kurt answered, even though he was feeling a little off kilter now.

Kurt followed the woman to a table in the corner and took his seat, Blaine and Puck standing protectively behind Kurt.

"Give me your hand." The woman took Kurt's outstretched hand in hers and began tracing the lines on his palm. She frowned in concentration as she diligently moved her fingertips over his hand. She startled, pulling back.

"I see your love line is very strong and does not branch off. You have one great love of your life. It is deep and long lasting."

Kurt smiled up at Blaine, but turned his attention back to the woman.

"But your life line is very short and full of strife."

"What?" Kurt's blue eyes widened.

"You must be careful. Dark dangerous things stalk you even now." The woman said. "You must protect yourself from those that want to do you harm."

"Pardon me?" Kurt's voice shook fearfully. "Dark dangerous things? A short life?"

"Kurt, it will be fine." Blaine tried to reassure him. The woman's dark eyed gaze skewered Blaine and she smiled coldly.

"Not even you or all of your knights can protect him from these things, Prince Blaine. His fate is already sealed. It is written in the stars and it will be done."

"That's it. We're done." Blaine literally pulled Kurt out of his chair and out of the store. "See? I told you what would happen."

"You didn't tell me that she was going to predict bad things. I don't want to hear those things." Kurt frantically said, as if seeing danger around every corner. His eyes darted back and forth. "I'm going to die Blaine. She said I'll have a short life and… danger was after me."

"Baby calm down," Blaine said as he pulled Kurt into his protective embrace. He was ticked at himself for even allowing his Chosen One to enter that shop. "Kurt, nothing is going to happen to you. Do you really think I would let it? Do you think Puck would?"

"No, but… not you or all your knights…"

"Kurt, she makes a living doing those things. You walked into that store with two vampires. Dangerous and dark are only two of the adjectives used to describe us. A short life is kind of expected, especially since you're my Chosen One and once you are turned you aren't technically considered to be alive."

"How did the woman know you were the prince?"

"Kurt, everyone knows that my father and I are here. It's not a surprise. You've seen how people have reacted since we've been here."

"I guess that even vampires like to gossip." Kurt acknowledged.

"Do you want to get lunch in town?" Blaine asked, worried that Kurt was being too quiet. "You need to eat and keep your strength up."

"I can make a salad back at the manor. I'd like to go back to the house now." Kurt said, his mood ruined. The walked to the car and Blaine helped Kurt in before beginning the drive back to the Manor. Blaine watched Kurt stare out the window. There was clearly something wrong and he didn't want Kurt to be upset. He never should have let Kurt into that shop.

"Kurt, she was a fraud, please quit worrying," Blaine said. Kurt shook his head.

"I'm not. I just…" Kurt trailed off.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Nothing is wrong, Blaine."

"Are you mad at me?"

"What? No, I'm not mad at you, Blaine. Just the situation is pretty heady." Kurt admitted.

"Situation?"

"I knew in my head that you were the prince. People have referred to you as the prince, and even in New York, we were staying at the Plaza and people were throwing out your title left and right, but I never got it until we came here." Kurt answered.

"What are you talking about?" Blaine was puzzled.

"The press at the airport and the way you suddenly became this public persona Prince Blaine Vladimir Anderson of the House Draculesit instead of just my Blaine…The way the people here all step back and defer to you…it's a little strange for me."

"That's what's been bothering you?" Blaine asked.

"It's a little much to take, Blaine, when I've never seen it before."

"Are... you trying to tell me that you can't handle being with me that all of this is too much for you?" Blaine asked, shocking Kurt with the raw pain in his voice. "Because it's just a title Kurt. It's not who I am… well it is sort of but…"

"No! Blaine, sweetie, I'm not leaving you. I just needed some time to process all of it."

"I just want you to be happy, Kurt. If this is something you don't think you can live with, I need to know," Blaine said.

"I'll be fine Blaine, as long as I have you," Kurt smiled.

"How was the city boys?" Nathaniel greeted them when they got back to the Manor.

"It was good Dad," Blaine answered. "We saw Hurricane Amelia. She told us to tell you hi and made me promise to invite her to the Mating ceremony."

"How was she?" Nathaniel asked. Blaine shrugged.

"You know Amelia. We barely got a word in, but she seemed good," Blaine answered.

"That woman will never change," Nathaniel chuckled. "What about you Kurt? Did you enjoy New Orleans?"

"It was amazing," Kurt gushed. "We saw some touristy things and shopped. I got all of my souvenirs bought."

"What did you purchase?" Nathaniel asked.

"I found this."

"Why did you buy that?" Nathaniel asked.

"I thought it looked like the manor and my Dad will appreciate it." Kurt said.

"That's because it is the Manor,." Nathaniel said looking at his son with a raised eyebrow. Blaine gave him a subtle nod letting him know he had handled things and no more pictures would be surfacing.

"Really?" an oblivious Kurt answered. "I would have loved to been a guest at one of those parties. Are they everything the movies show?"

"They were like the movies show." Nathaniel laughed. "And a ball at Black Oak was an invitation everyone wanted to get. Miss Genevieve's parties were legendary. This picture has been digitally enhanced though… probably spliced with one from another party elsewhere… because that woman is a harlot who spent half her life making unwanted advances on Blaine's grandfather and that man is a bastard who used to beat his wife on a regular basis. Neither of them would have ever been invited here. There is no way that either Evangeline or her mother would have ever allowed those people to step foot on their property."

"Oh my goodness! I think that just might make this picture even more interesting. My dad will love it." Kurt answered.

"I'm sorry to do this, but Blaine, will you join me in the study? Even if we are on vacation, there's still some Council business to take care of. Kurt, will you be okay?"

"Of course, Nathaniel. I think I might curl up with a book," Kurt said.

"That's probably a good idea. Judging by those clouds rolling in, I'd say you're about to be treated to your first southern storm," Nathaniel replied. "Help yourself to the library."

"I will. Thanks," Kurt said.

"Duty calls… I'll find you when I'm done," Blaine said, leaning down and kissing Kurt before following his father to the study.

Kurt wandered to the library where he found a book about the history of New Orleans. He took it and went to the window seat he spotted the day before to sit and watch the storm which was now thundering outside. He was completely engrossed in the book so he jumped when Puck's voice interrupted his concentration.

"Didn't expect to see you up here." Puck said.

"I thought I'd take the time to read a little about the area. I found a book in the library." Kurt held up the book.

"Look, Kurt, I wanted to talk to you. This is a conversation we should have had a long time ago, but well…"

"Puck, just get on with it," Kurt set the book down beside him and focused on Puck. "What is this about?"

Puck shifted on his feet. "I need to apologize, dude."

"Apologize? For what?" Kurt was genuinely puzzled by what Puck had to say.

"I'm sorry we didn't notice what was happening with Karofsky. We should have known." Puck said.

"Puck…I didn't tell anyone. You couldn't have noticed what I didn't want anyone to see." Kurt had kept so much a secret because he hadn't known what to do or who to go to when things were spiraling out of control.

"You don't understand. I should have. I have literally been trained my entire life to notice the things other people don't. I failed to protect you. I am a member of the House Guard of the Draculesti. Hell, my family is the House Guard. Protecting others is what we do and I messed up so badly with you man."

"Puck…"

"You have to know that I will never allow that to happen again. I take my job very seriously and I won't let anything happen to you or Blaine or your kids whenever you two get around to it." Puck firmly stated.

"I know Puck. I've never doubted it. If nothing else you proved it when you broke Finn's hand."

"He's had it coming for a long time, Kurt. I don't think I ever enjoyed doing my job as much as I did at that moment," he grinned.

"Thanks for everything, Puck. I really appreciate it." Kurt honestly answered.

"I will let you get back to reading your book, but I'll be around so you don't have to worry about anything."

Several hours later, Blaine found Kurt curled up in the window seat with a book that had been abandoned as Kurt stared out the window. The storm was still raging outside; the trees practically bending with the force of the driving rain and wind.

"Hey." Blaine said, not wanting to startle Kurt.

"Hi. Done with your Council business?" Kurt asked, turning his focus on Blaine.

"Yeah. What are you doing?"

"Just watching the storm." Kurt said.

"Why don't we go back to my room if you want to watch the storm?" Blaine suggested. "I have a huge picture window that can see for miles."

"Are you trying to seduce me into your bed, Blaine Anderson?" Kurt couldn't help but tease.

"And if I said I was?"

"I would have to say that I am not that kind of boy." Kurt said. "Although, I might make an exception for you."

Blaine laughed, taking Kurt's hand and leading him down the hall to his room. The two boys were soon curled up on Blaine's bed, snuggling and chatting as the watched nature's wrath unfolding outside.

"I love you." Blaine murmured smiling into Kurt's hair. "I love your spirit and your outlook on life. You always are trying to see the good that is out there."

"I love you too Blaine and I am so glad I came here with you. It's been nice seeing this side of you. I feel like I'm getting a glimpse of a Blaine not many people get to. I am so proud to know that I am going to be tied to you. Regardless of what happens, Blaine, of where my life takes me, even if it's going to be dark, dangerous and short like that lady said, I'm glad I'm spending it with you."

"You know that I feel the same way love, and I know you're worried about being turned and how it will change you, but you will still be the same person. You'll still have your personality and traits. Things like that won't change because they are so ingrained in you."

"Thank you for talking to me about this and educating me. It means a lot knowing that you want me to be informed about this going into it, so that when we're ready to be fully mated I'll be comfortable," Kurt answered.

"I love you so much; of course I want that for you… for us." Blaine nuzzled at Kurt's neck, just reveling in the scent of his mate.

"And I love you too Blaine… for eternity."


	31. Chapter Thirty One

WARNING: Sexy times ahead... don't like please feel free to skip it.

 

"He had told me what he was, what he craved from me… what he desired above all, but I feared it. The thought that my love's fangs would pierce my skin… that he would drink of my blood set my heart a-quiver in my breast, but I could not deny him. As his mouth descended towards my neck and his fangs penetrated the flesh there, I felt no pain however, only an indescribable ecstasy that left me yearning and aching for so much more from my lover."

-an excerpt from the journals of Mina Harker-Tepes

 

"It is so beautiful here." Kurt said as he sipped his sweet tea on the veranda. The storm of the night before had given way to a beautiful, but very humid day. The boys had spent most of it lazing in the pool and exploring the house and grounds some more, but as twilight approached they had settled on the verandah to watch the sun sink into the surrounding bayou.

"It is." Blaine agreed. "But it's also dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"The house has been here since before the Civil War, Kurt, and there is a dark history with this house and property." Blaine answered.

"Oh! Is this my ghost story you promised me finally?" Kurt said excitedly.

"Something like that," Blaine smirked.

"Tell me." Kurt grinned, clapping his hands. He was intrigued by the history of the property especially when those stories were the kind which would give him the shivers.

"All right, but if it gets too dark for you, tell me and I'll stop." Blaine said, taking Kurt's hand in his.

"Okay."

"The house and all the buildings on the grounds were all built by the slaves. They were owned by my mother's family which was an old Southern family like you read about. They had plenty of money and were not shy about showing off their wealth. That's why this house was built to showcase how rich they were with a big house and even bigger parties."

"Ah." Kurt had read enough historical romances about the south that he understood what Blaine was telling him; his ancestors were greedy and showy.

"In fact, we became vampires because of the slaves."

"What?"

"My Great Grandfather Colonel Jedidiah Blaine took it upon himself to visit the slave quarters late one night after a drunken party. He'd taken a shine to one of the women and went to see her. Apparently this was something he did on a fairly regular basis. What he didn't know was that she was a vampire and was more than capable of defending herself."

"What happened?" Kurt leaned forward in his chair, enthralled in Blaine's story.

"She bit him and turned him then fled with her mate to the north, leaving the Colonel to fend for himself as revenge, knowing, once the change was complete, he would attack and probably kill whatever humans were handy, which was exactly what happened."

"Oh my god."

"He killed several slaves who'd been caring for him before turning on his own family. He killed all of them except his youngest daughter who fought back. Still, she would have died if it weren't for the slaves who heard the commotion. They knew exactly what he was. Back in those days the slaves were the most common victims of the area's vampires, so they believed in us even when their owners dismissed us as myths. They killed the Colonel… beheaded him. The beautiful daughter would have died right here on this very verandah except one of the slaves took pity on her because she had been unfailingly kind to them and had always done her best to protect them from her father's cruelty, even at her own expense. Like I said, the slaves knew about vampires… they knew how to turn her and that's what they did. They forced her to drink her father's blood before they fled for their own safety and left her here, all alone. Thus my Grandmere Genevieve became a vampire and Black Oak Manor started to earn its rather dark reputation."

"That reads like a soap opera if I ever heard one." Kurt remarked. Blaine smirked.

"Ah, but this one is real Kurt," he pointed out.

"True, so what happened next?"

"Vampires definitely weren't out back then and it was the south where even an inkling of rumor could ruin a family." Blaine answered. "Luckily Grandmere was resourceful enough to convince people she had been away caring for her ancient and senile aunt when the rest of the family was murdered. She learned to cope on her own as a vampire as The War Between the States broke out. It made covering up her feeding easier. By the time the war was over she had gained control of herself, but all her family and most of her friends were gone.

"How horrible for her!" Kurt said. "I can't imagine how she must've felt." Blaine nodded.

"She is an extraordinarily strong person," he said with a fond smile. "We have a colorful and tragic history here at the Oaks."

"Is this where the ghosts come in?" Kurt asked.

"Yes Kurt, this is where the ghosts come in," Blaine chuckled. "Grandmere claims to have seen her mother and older brother here on more than one occasion since their death. She also said she knew Mama had died because the Colonel showed up walking in the moonlight on the verandah."

"On this verandah?" Kurt said his voice barely more than a squeak. Blaine nodded. "Is that how it got the name Black Oak Manor, because of all the death here?"

"No. It's always been Black Oak Manor because of the trees which thrived here, despite everything else going on. My ancestors simply decided that the plantation should have a name representative of the land, I guess to make it look like they cared about nature and were lovely, kind people." Blaine laughed wryly. "Old money has a way of polishing everything up on the surface."

"So now you know the dark and bloody history of the Blaines and Black Oak Manor, Kurt. I don't want you to feel like you have to live here, but it's one of the reasons that I am who I am and I could never give it up." Blaine said. "It will be our vacation home, or we can live here if you want that. I know you are looking forward to getting out of Ohio."

"Blaine, I think we know that you aren't leaving Ohio any time soon."

"At the very least, college is in my future, Kurt. My father is doing a fine job running the Council and will be running it for quite some time to come. Like you, there are a lot of things that I want to do before I accept that responsibility." Blaine said. "I know you wanted to go to school in New York. Do you still feel that way?"

"I don't know. I loved New York, but the prejudice there…"

"We can go anywhere Kurt. It doesn't have to be limited to the States either. We can go to London, Paris… anywhere."

"Paris would be amazing," Kurt breathed. Blaine smiled.

"We can go there if you want. It doesn't honestly matter to me where, as long as I'm with you."

"I have an idea for somewhere we can go now?" Kurt said coyly.

"Oh and where is that?"

"Upstairs," Kurt smirked.

"I do love the way you think," Blaine grinned, scooping up Kurt and carrying him through the French doors and up the stairs in a manner which would have made Rhett Butler proud.

The next few days were spent in much the same way. The boys spent as much time with each other as they could, although Blaine was occasionally pulled away to help his father with affairs of state. When this happened Kurt spent time with Puck or reading in the large library. It was here Blaine found him on their fourth day at the Manor.

"Hello my beautiful Chosen One. How was your afternoon?" Blaine asked.

"Lazy and relaxing," Kurt answered. "What about you?"

"Busy, but productive. Unless something major comes up, I won't need to help Dad for the rest of the trip, so I thought we'd have a little celebration. What were you planning on doing for dinner tonight?" Blaine asked.

"It depends what's in the kitchen and what I feel like." Kurt answered.

"In that case, would you allow me to treat you to an authentic New Orleans feast on the verandah?" Blaine asked.

"Will the Colonel be joining us?" Kurt couldn't resist teasing.

"Not if he knows what's good for him. This is a private party," Blaine smirked.

"Why Mr. Anderson, are you courting me?" Kurt flirted.

"I am certainly trying." Blaine said.

"What are we having?" Kurt asked, curious to see what he had planned.

"A good old fashioned Cajun and Creole dinner like nothing you've ever experienced before." Blaine teased.

"That sounds amazing." Kurt said.

"Then please join me on the veranda at six pm."

"I'll be there."

Kurt was not surprised to see Blaine waiting at the door with a bouquet of flowers. He was even dressed to the nines in a white linen suit which screamed old south to Kurt's fashion conscious eyes.

"Flowers for me?" Kurt took the beautiful bouquet of white gardenias.

"Of course. You deserve flowers every day." Blaine gave his boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek, holding out his hand and leading Kurt to the veranda that was decorated with candles and twinkly lights.

"I feel like a courted Southern Belle." Kurt waved his hand in front of his face.

Blaine smirked. "Should I carry you up the stairs and have my wicked way with you?"

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

"Isn't that Rhett who said that? I thought you were Scarlet." Blaine teased.

"Yes well, I've never been one to stick to my assigned role. Now, impress me with your dinner." Kurt said.

Blaine bowed with a flourish. "First this evening we will start with our appetizer of crawfish boulettes then we move onto the main course of jambalaya and crawfish etouffee, followed by the perfect finish to our evening, freshly made beignets."

"Wow. It all sounds so amazing. Did you make this yourself?" Kurt's stomach growled in anticipation.

"I may have had a little help from the kitchen staff since food really isn't my thing," Blaine admitted. "Although I did call Grandmere and get her recipe for beignets."

"I appreciate the effort you went to, Blaine." Kurt murmured his eyes closing in pleasure as he took the first bite. "Oh my God this is amazing!"

"I'm glad you like it," Blaine smiled.

They lingered over dinner talking about their future and just enjoying being together. By almost wordless agreement, once he was finished eating, Blaine led Kurt up the impressive staircase and down the hall to the bedroom. He walked Kurt to his door, as a fine southern gentleman should. He couldn't resist kissing those luscious lips of Kurt's.

"I should say good night here."

"Do you have to?" Kurt whimpered.

"If I don't say good night now, I won't be able to." Blaine answered.

Kurt blushed at the thought of not having to ever say good night to his prince. It was enough to send his blood racing through his veins. He watched Blaine go and Kurt slipped into his room, making sure the door was firmly shut and locked before he opened a small cosmetic bag that he'd tossed in his suitcase just in case he needed it. Before he lost his nerve, he shucked off his clothes and slipped into only a soft, silky robe, dropping the bag into his pocket. He looked at himself one last time in the mirror, took a deep breath, and walked over to Blaine's room, knocking on the door.

"Kurt? What's wrong?" Blaine asked, wearing nothing but the same ugly pajama pants he'd worn in New York.

"I don't want to say good night Blaine…ever." Kurt huskily murmured.

He pushed open the door and made sure it was shut and locked securely behind him. Blaine followed with wide eyes…unable to believe that his chosen one was being so bold.

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked.

"I want you. I don't want to wait anymore."

With a deliberate slowness, Kurt undid his robe, allowing it to drop to the floor. With a low growl, Blaine pulled Kurt to him, deeply inhaling his soon to be mate's scent. Kurt put his arms up to circle Blaine's neck nuzzling it as Blaine had so often done to him gently licking and biting. As Blaine felt the light nipping, he realized that he couldn't help himself and picked Kurt up carrying him to the bed, covering him with his own body and taking the control that he'd allowed Kurt back. As a vampire and royalty, it was in his blood to dominate in a relationship, especially with his Chosen One.

"Blaine!" Kurt moaned as Blaine pulled away long enough to divest himself of his pajama bottoms and to grab a few things they would need before things progressed any further. His hands roamed Kurt's body touching and stroking it as never before. Kurt's movements became frantic as Blaine readied his mate for their joining.

"Blaine please! I need you now," Kurt moaned.

"Shhh….." Blaine placed a gentle finger on Kurt's lips. "I'm going to make this a night neither of us will ever forget."

Kurt surrendered himself to Blaine's control. Blaine dropped kisses all over his face, as he entered Kurt for the first time, groaning at the sheer pleasure he felt. Blaine felt his fangs lengthen and desire surged within him as he began to move within his hot, willing mate. Kurt gently reached over and pulled his boyfriend's head up and looked into his eyes. Neither one said a word as Kurt tilted his head to the side, showing off his neck.

"Kurt, if I do it once, I won't be able to not bite or feed from you. This is not a light commitment. I don't want you to have any regrets because we can't go back if we do this." Blaine rasped, struggling to retain his rapidly slipping control.

"Blaine, we're spending forever together. I want you to do this. I'm ready for you. I'm ready for this. I'm ready for us. Just be gentle." Kurt hoped the bite didn't hurt that bad.

"I will always be gentle when it comes to you." Blaine whispered as he took in the smell of Kurt's bare neck.

Kurt's blood was already singing to him and it was delectable. He licked a stripe up Kurt's neck, suckling at the pale flesh. Kurt writhed beneath him moaning. Blaine felt his desire build at the prospect of getting to really taste his Chosen One. He licked once more at Kurt's neck, knowing the saliva would numb it slightly so the bite wouldn't hurt as much. Then he opened his mouth allowing his fangs to fully descend and pierced Kurt's neck for the first time. He groaned as the blood of his mate filled his mouth and his whole being was taken over with an indescribable feeling of love and lust.

Kurt tensed for a second when Blaine's fangs pierced his neck, but it was short lived as he felt Blaine latch on and take from him. It was nothing like the books or movies described. He couldn't have stopped the moan from escaping his mouth even if he had wanted. There was no pain… none at all… only a pleasure so sharp and deep that Kurt very nearly reached his climax just from that.

Kurt could only manage to say one word sentences as Blaine's pace increased and he felt himself teetering at the brink. "Yes. Please. Blaine." With a deep primal growl, Blaine began to shudder above him sending Kurt tumbling over the edge of desire himself, completely and fully joining them as mates for the first time.

Blaine watched his lover sleep. Kurt had been such a willing partner, able to keep up with each seductive kiss or touch. He'd wondered what his life had been like before; without Kurt. He couldn't see himself without the other boy now. Blaine tucked the blankets tighter around them when Kurt shivered. The room was a slight bit chilly since they hadn't closed the windows the night before and he didn't want Kurt getting sick. The smell of gardenias and magnolias wafted through the air, mixed with the scent of sex. Kurt slowly woke up, disoriented for a moment until he felt the body next to him shift and pull him closer.

"You shouldn't be up this early." Blaine whispered, tightening his hold on Kurt. "It's not anywhere near time to get up."

"Why are you awake then?"

"I am tuned to you, Kurt. It's been happening gradually anyway as we've gotten closer, but now… The mating ceremony is really just a formality at this point love. You're my mate in every way that matters. Now, is there anything you need? Is there anything I can do?"

"Blaine, if anything, I am happier than I've ever been." Kurt couldn't hush the little giggle that escaped his lips. "You were amazing. I never thought it could be like that, ever. Even the bite was… it was glorious." Kurt blushed.

"You should go back to sleep." Blaine murmured in his ear. "You need to build up your strength again, Kurt. I don't want you getting sick if you don't get enough sleep."

"I don't think I want to sleep right now, Blaine." Kurt whispered, smiling at his lover.

"Oh? What did you want to do instead?" Blaine smirked.

"I'm sure we can think of something." Kurt said, pulling Blaine's face down to his.

\----

Kurt woke the next morning, sore, but happy. Blaine had been a considerate lover, although his neck was aching a little bit, but that really couldn't be helped. His eye caught on the two small dots of blood from the night before on the pristine white sheets. Kurt gingerly touched his neck, feeling the bite marks and smiling to himself. He glanced around the room…the French doors were open to the balcony, the sheer white curtains billowing in the breeze.

He wrapped the sheet around his waist, padding across the room and onto the balcony where Blaine was watching the sun rise above the bayou, the morning birds singing a song.

"Hi." Kurt said before he sat down on Blaine's lap.

"Hi yourself." Blaine smiled, curling his arms around Kurt's waist and dropping a kiss on his cheek. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Tired and sore, but good in all the right ways." Kurt admitted, blushing.

"Are you up for round three or was it four?" Blaine teased.

"Blaine!" Kurt was scandalized.

"What?" Blaine asked innocently. "You were an amazing lover, Kurt. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Is it wrong that I want to keep you in my bed?"

"No…but I don't think life is going to allow us to do that." Kurt hadn't been doing anything last night other than going with what felt right in the moment.

"I suppose not." Blaine pouted. "I'm going to get dressed and go for a run on the grounds. Feel free to make yourself breakfast when you are done in here. We can just hang out today."

"See you later, honey." Kurt called.

"Of course, baby." Blaine returned the sentiment with a smile as he closed the door behind him.

Kurt dropped the sheet on the floor of the bathroom and sank into the claw foot bathtub humming in contentment. The hot, steamy water worked miracles on his sore muscles; muscles that he hadn't even known existed.

"Jesus Anderson. Did you leave any blood in his body?" Puck remarked when Blaine came through the front door, finished with his morning run to find Puck and his father in the front room waiting for him with nearly identical grins on their faces.

"Shut up, Puckerman." Blaine said with no heat in his words.

"You're the one who's advertising that you and your boy are having way too much fun." Puck teased.

"Don't worry about my mate, Puck. I am perfectly capable of making sure that he is fine." Blaine answered.

"Blaine and Kurt, sitting in a tree…F…U..." Puck said having taken notice of Blaine's change of title for Kurt.

"Don't you finish that Puckerman!" Blaine threatened. "He's mine and I will do whatever I want with him."

"So, we noticed when we saw Kurt this morning." Nathaniel remarked with a wry grin.

"Not you too." Blaine groaned.

"You need to have some restraint, son. Kurt needs time to recover." Nathaniel said.

"Father!" Blaine gasped.

"What? We're all men here. We talk about these things. You know, either you need to practice more restraint or Kurt needs to be eating more red meat to build up his blood. Maybe some vitamins with extra iron would help and wouldn't slow the two of you down."

"Oh my god! I do not want to talk about this with you, Dad. It is just disturbing." Blaine said. "I am off to go find Kurt."

"Restraint, son. Restraint." Nathaniel called after him.

"And don't forget the condoms, dude!" Puck sang, his laugh following Blaine down the hall.

Blaine stomped into the kitchen, where Kurt was making breakfast. He was immediately cheered up by the sight of his mate with his marks standing out prominently on his neck and a feral grin appeared on his face. He just couldn't resist wrapping his arms around the other boy.

"Hi to you too." Kurt giggled, but continued to fix his breakfast.

Blaine nibbled lightly at Kurt's neck slightly perturbed that Kurt wasn't responding quite as enthusiastically as he would have liked to his intentions.

"Seriously Blaine? I'm trying to fix my breakfast. I do need to eat, you know." Kurt giggled.

"So do I." Blaine whispered into his ear.

"Your father and Puck are right down the hall, Blaine." Kurt's voice went an octave above normal when Blaine ran a hand down his arm, making him shiver in anticipation.

"We can take this right up the stairs." Blaine reminded him.

"Blaine! We can't do that! They'll know what we we're doing!"

"Kurt, they already know what we're doing. You have my marks all over you and you smell like hot sex." Blaine smirked.

"They what? Oh my God!" he exclaimed, his face turning bright red.

"Relax love. Sex is a natural part of the mating process. We have nothing to be embarrassed about," Blaine reassured him.

"That still doesn't mean that we can just drop everything and do…do…that!"

"Oh, Kurt…I love you more every day." Blaine said.

"Can we please stop talking about this so I can eat breakfast now?" Kurt said his cheeks almost glowing from how brightly he was blushing.

"Do you have to?" Blaine whined.

"It is sort of necessary for my continued survival, Blaine."

"Then you should eat, Kurt, so we can get back to doing other fun activities."

"And just what kind of fun activities did you have in mind, Blaine? I mean, I would like to swim in the pool today since it is warm enough."

"That wasn't what I had in mind. In fact, what I had in mind didn't require leaving the house."

"Oh really?" Kurt smirked, forgetting that he had been embarrassed about all this just moments ago.

"Or even our room and clothing is optional as well." Blaine said.

"You know… I'm not sure that I'm all that hungry after all…" Kurt found himself in Blaine's room before he could finish his sentence.

 

Several hours later, Kurt strolled downstairs on his way to kitchen.

"Hey Kurt." Puck called out. "So, what have you and Blaine been doing today?"

"Yeah, we haven't seen you two all day." Nathaniel smirked.

Kurt blushed a bright, rosy red. "Well, uh…we…we've been talking."

"Must have been a really good conversation." Nathaniel teased.

"It was." Kurt nodded his head and frantically left the room, headed to the kitchen for snacks.

"So much for restraint." Kurt heard Puck murmur.

"I guess Kurt's having steak for dinner tonight." Nathaniel chuckled. "And I need to change that delivery from Coralline's. Looks like Blaine won't need any blood from there."

Kurt snuck back upstairs to Blaine's room, having used the staircase off the kitchen to avoid another awkward conversation with his future father-in-law and bodyguard.


	32. Chapter Thirty Two

A/N: We own neither glee nor its characters. WARNING: Discussion of sex… don't like don't read.

"A key component of the mating process occurs the first time a vampire feeds from his mate. Not only does it bring extreme pleasure to both parties, it further cements the bond between mates and acts as a mark of poss ession, letting all other vampires know that this person is the chosen of another."

-An excerpt "Vampire Mating Rituals: Vampire Love from a Human Perspective" by Emma Pillsbury PhD

 

Kurt smiled as he opened the door for the pizza delivery boy on their second to last night in New Orleans. He had never been happier in his life, spending all this time with Blaine without doubters surrounding them.

"Pizza delivery," the boy said, his eyes darting around frantically before his voice dropped to a whisper. "Are they here?"

"What are you talking about? Is who here?" Kurt asked puzzled.

"Them!" the boy hissed. "The Undead… the leeches… the vampires."

"Excuse me?" Kurt said indignantly. He had been subjected to enough prejudice in his life. He would not let that happen to Blaine.

"Do you know who these people are?" The pizza boy hissed in a low voice, as if the vampires would jump out from behind the doors.

"Why, yes, I do." Kurt casually showed off the ring and family crest that he never took off.

"Oh my God! They have you under some kind of… of thrall! You have to escape and come with me." The pizza boy grabbed Kurt's wrist and began to drag him out the door. Kurt pulled his wrist free and glared at the teenager.

"Listen you pimply faced little creep…" he began, stopping as he saw Blaine descending the staircase with his fangs on display, looking every bit the Prince of Darkness.

"Is there a problem here, my love? Are we having a… guest for dinner?""

"You're one of them!" The young man shouted baking away with wide eyes and running for his car which was soon flying down the driveway spraying white gravel from beneath his tires.

"You did that on purpose." Kurt accused with a laugh as he shut the door to face a completely unrepentant Blaine

"Yeah well, he was a jerk and he was touching you. No one touches what's mine." Blaine practically growled, stalking over to where Kurt was leaning against the wall and kissing him very thoroughly.

"Blaine…" Kurt shook his head at Blaine's display of ownership even if it had left him more than a little bit breathless.

"Oh it wasn't that bad. You should have seen the time Jeff was here." Blaine reminisced. "We couldn't get anyone to come here for six months after that. I can't help it if there are superstitious humans that make it just so easy."

"Hmmph well I suppose they get what they deserve for allowing themselves to be led by their own prejudice," Kurt said, his lip twitching with thinly veiled amusement. "But it's still not right."

"Let's eat the pizza before it gets cold." Blaine changed the subject. "You need to keep up your strength."

"Just what did you have in mind, Blaine Anderson?" Kurt tried to glare, but he couldn't.

"A few little reminders that you are mine and mine only." Blaine huskily said.

"Then lead on, my prince." Kurt held out his hand and Blaine grasped it in his own.

The two boys spent the evening curled up with each other watching a movie and eating their pizza.

Kurt pulled out his suitcase with a heavy heart. It would soon be time to return home and deal with the rest of his life.

"What are you doing?" Blaine asked, walking in from the adjoining bathroom.

"Getting a head start on packing. You know I don't like leaving stuff like that to the last minute, Blaine."

"Are you really that invested in packing or can I tempt you?"

"Tempt me with what?" Kurt waggled his eyebrows at Blaine.

"Not that…at least not yet."

"Tell me more."

"Before I leave, I always take a walk around the grounds. It kind of helps me remember where I come from and who I am. I wanted you to come with me this time because you are a huge part of who I am."

"Then I would be honored to take a walk with you."

The grounds were exquisite in the early morning sun. The flowers were bursting with brilliant colors and the floral scents were heavy in the damp air.

"So, I was thinking…" Blaine trailed off.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Next year, we're going to be seniors. There are graduation and prom and college applications to worry about. I don't want you worrying about trying to plan a mating ceremony on top of all those other pressures. So I was thinking we can do it after graduation, unless it is too soon for you."

"Actually, I don't think it's soon enough Blaine. We already mates in every way that matters. Why not take that final step? Isn't it vampire tradition to do it within six months anyway?"

"We don't have to be traditional, Kurt. No one is going to pressure you to do a ceremony. It's not that big of a deal to me because I already have you."

"I think we should do it. I'm okay with it because this is what I want and it's not being forced on me. I know it's important for the community to know that we are together."

"Kurt, what about the turning? Are you sure you're ready for this?" Blaine asked.

"I am." Kurt said. "At least I will be when it happens because I know I'm getting to make the choice. And I'm choosing you."

"All right. When do you want to plan for the ceremony to happen?" Blaine asked.

"Like the Count said, October is a lovely month." Kurt remarked flippantly. "I can work with orange and rust colors, Blaine."

Blaine grinned, wrapping Kurt in his arms and spinning him around. "Hey, Kurt, guess what?"

"What, you dork?"

"We're getting mated. So…who gets to tell your father?" Blaine asked with a smirk. Burt Hummel was going to be a delight to tell.

"I think we should do that together, Blaine." Kurt remarked. "I mean, we should probably tell your father as well."

"Later. Should we go start the honeymoon early?" Blaine smirked.

Kurt giggled. "Well, it couldn't hurt to practice since practice does make perfect."

"Boys, nice to see you." Nathaniel said as they walked into the study where he was sipping on a nice brandy. Even if he wasn't human, there was no reason not to enjoy a lovely drink in the twilight hours as the day receded into evening.

"Can we talk to you?" Blaine asked formally.

"Of course, son. What did you want to talk about?"

"You know Kurt and I met with grandfather in New York and there was talk of the mating ceremony."

"Ah…" Nathaniel sipped from his drink, composing his thoughts. "I believe the Council has granted you additional time due to the situation, Blaine."

"They did, sir." Kurt interrupted. "But Blaine and I have talked and we're both ready to take that step."

"Oh." Nathaniel was quite surprised. "When were you planning a ceremony?"

"Grandfather did mention October being a lovely month for ceremonies." Blaine replied.

"October, is it then?" Nathaniel smiled. "Well, it is a lovely month for your ceremony. Kurt, I want you to know that while the ceremony legally binds you to Blaine, the turning process is what will cement you into the family."

"I understand, sir, and Blaine and I are going to wait until after graduation for that. I will have the summer before college to acclimate to the changes in my life." Kurt said. "I don't want to jeopardize my senior year at Dalton and getting into college if we move too fast."

"I see. Well, I am proud of the two of you for coming to an adult decision." Nathaniel was impressed with his son and Kurt.

"Now, we get to explain this to Kurt's Dad." Blaine said.

"When we get back, Blaine. I want to tell him face to face and not over the phone." Kurt answered.

"That is probably for the best." Nathaniel nodded. "Now, there are quite a few protocols that will have to be followed, but I'm sure Blaine will explain those to you and there is a book in the library that talks about them in detail. You are more than welcome to take it back to Ohio so you can understand what it will be like."

"Thank you, Nathaniel."

Kurt added his toiletries to his carry-on bag before zipping it closed for the last time. He glanced sadly around the room that had been his for the week…the room where he and Blaine had fully consummated their love for the first time. His stay in New Orleans had been so wonderful and he hated to leave and go home. He shut the door behind him and trudged down the glorious staircase where Blaine was waiting for him at the bottom.

"Why the long face?" Blaine asked, taking Kurt's hand in his and leading him out the front door and down the steps to where the car was waiting.

"I had such a good time here this week. I don't want to go back to my real life." Kurt softly answered. Blaine silently wrapped an arm around his chosen one.

"Kurt, I am going to bring you back here this summer for a longer stay." Blaine answered.

"I know, but…" Kurt said as he and Blaine walked toward the car.

"I know love. This is a special place and this has been a very important time for us, but it's also just the beginning of forever together."

Kurt was not surprised to see Nathaniel chatting with the staff, reminding them about a few things and thanking them for their hard work. Puck was leaning against the car with the other bodyguards.

"Ready to go, boys?" Nathaniel asked.

"I suppose." Kurt answered.

"You'll be back this summer." Blaine reminded his boyfriend as the car was started and they were driving down the driveway and away from the house. "And again in October for our own ceremony."

Kurt smiled at his mate and leaned his head on his shoulder as his mind filled with thoughts of fitted suits with traditional scarlet accents, flowers, music, and binding his life with Blaine's.

Restaurant…

"I'd ask what's on the menu today, but it looks like you've been." Burt retorted as he and Kurt sat down for dinner in a little Italian place in Westerville. He'd arranged to meet his Dad for dinner the day after he had gotten back from New Orleans.

"Dad!" Kurt felt his face heat up.

"Hey, you're the one who's showing those bites off, young man. So are you and Blaine…" Burt raised an eyebrow at his son.

Kurt simply pulled a scarf out of his bag, wanting his father to take him serious. They needed to talk and the bites were distracting. "That is not something I am willing to discuss with you, but we do need to talk, Dad."

"All right." Burt said. "What did you want to talk about son?"

"Blaine and I had some serious discussions in New Orleans."

"Seems like you did a little more than that." Burt couldn't resist needling his son a bit.

"Dad! Focus, please. Blaine and I have decided that we are having a mating ceremony which will make our relationship legal and binding in the vampire community."

"When?" Burt had known in his heart that this would happen, but to hear it was hard because it meant that his son was growing up and moving on with his life. Sometimes Burt felt like he was getting left behind as well.

"October, this year." Kurt answered.

"So soon?" Burt was a little surprised that the date was so soon. He'd assumed it would be years away, or so he hoped.

"October is almost nine months since Blaine declared his intentions towards me. As a general rule, chosen ones are mated and, if necessary, turned within six months. They gave us more time because of what happened, but Blaine is always going to be it for me and it's not going to change. All we're doing is making it legal for the community."

"When are you being turned?" Burt asked.

"Oh, that's not happening until after graduation." Kurt assured his father.

"Don't couples usually turn as part of the ceremony?" Burt asked.

"They sometimes do, but its senior year and we need to concentrate on school and applying to college. It will happen, Dad, that's not going to change."

"I know this is what you want Kurt and I am happy that you found Blaine, but it's just that I don't want to lose you, son." Burt admitted.

"Dad, you aren't going to lose me. I love you and you will always be in my life. Things might be a little different, but we're always going to be family."

"So…"

"So what?"

"I heard that Blaine has to produce an heir to keep the Anderson family in charge."

"Where did you hear that?"

"Carole overheard it at work and felt the need to rub it in my face." Burt sighed.

"I knew that Blaine does have to produce an heir, Dad. It's not a big secret."

"What are the two of you going to do about that?"

"When we're ready, which we're not, we will be using a surrogate to have a baby, but that's something to worry about when we are done with college. There's still a lot of time before we have to deal with that, however. Besides, I think Nathaniel is very comfortable with his position and Blaine isn't interested in it, yet." Kurt answered.

"Looks like you and Blaine have had the important conversations." Burt was duly impressed with his son and Blaine.

"We have," Kurt agreed.

"So, what is going to happen at this mating ceremony?" Burt asked curiously.

"I don't quite know all the details, yet, but as soon as I know, you'll know." Kurt answered.

"Alright then. I'm happy for you son. Let's eat." Burt said, effectively ending the conversation.

Back at Dalton….

Kurt walked through the halls to the Common Room after his lunch with his father. He still had bodyguards following his every move, but he was getting used to them because they gave him space when he needed it, but it did make him feel safe knowing they were there.

"So, how was New Orleans?" Nick asked.

"I definitely want to go back." Kurt answered.

"Did you do anything…fun?"

"There was so much to see and do." Kurt laughed. "But we mostly stayed at the estate or manor or whatever you want to call it."

"And…"

"And what?" Kurt asked.

"Did you and Blaine do anything….special?"

"Like what, Nicholas?"

"Oh, come on, Kurt. You're wearing a scarf around your neck and it's like 85 degrees out today." Nick remarked. "Besides you know, vampires can smell even the faintest of blood traces. Now, dish." 

"What?" Kurt was outraged. "You can smell the blood traces still? Even after I showered? We haven't even done anything since… Ok… no fair Nicholas!"

"That kind of answers my next question." Nick smirked. "So, was Blaine a gentleman?" 

"Nick, Blaine is always a gentleman." Kurt replied. "But oh my God! It was amazing. If I'd known, I'd have done it a long time ago."

"I'm so happy for you." Nick was glad that two of his friends were so happy with each other. "But remember the rooms aren't soundproofed here, Kurt."

"I've noticed." Kurt smirked. "Who knew that you were such a screamer?"

"Oh, now you're in for it, Hummel. I've been keeping Jeff in check all day and now I am going to let him off his leash."

"Kinky!"

"I didn't mean it like that." Nick squealed as Kurt's laughter trailed behind him down the hallway.

"What are your plans for summer?" Jeff asked Blaine as they walked down the hall, neither wanting to admit that classes would start back up tomorrow, leaving them only six weeks of school left.

"I don't know what's going on for summer yet." Blaine shrugged. He needed to talk to Kurt first before making any kind of plans.

"What has you in a funk?" Nick asked, walking into their conversation. "Usually, you're so pumped for summer with your plans already set."

"Nothing." Blaine muttered, sulking as he walked into the Common Room, nodding to Puck who was clearly guarding Kurt and working on his own homework.

"Blaine, you're acting like a child. What the hell is wrong with you?" Jeff demanded.

"Nothing!" Blaine hissed.

"Baloney. You're in a mood so something is obviously wrong." Wesley calmly said.

"Kurt's ashamed of me." Blaine announced.

"Are you out of your mind?" Jeff demanded. "Kurt loves you with all his heart. He's in no way ashamed of you, Blaine."

"Then explain to me why he's wearing a scarf all of a sudden." Blaine snarled, pointing over to where Kurt sat with his headphones on, studying.

All three boys looked over to where Kurt was sitting and reading a book with a bright purple scarf decorated with skulls wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Oh. Blaine, you know he doesn't understand. You need to tell him and explain things to him. Kurt would never do anything to purposely hurt you." Nick tried to soothe the other boy's ruffled feelings. "Besides, I just talked to him and ashamed is the last thing he's feeling. More like…extremely well satisfied."

"But…"

"Blaine, seriously, stop thinking the worst. He's new to this life and you have to explain things. I'm sure no one has ever talked to him about it before. Just talk to him." Nick said.

Blaine made his way over to the table where Kurt and Puck were sitting, pulling out the chair and sitting next to his beloved, running his fingertips over Kurt's bare arm and eliciting a shudder from him. Kurt removed his headphones, tucking them into his bag and shutting his book, giving Blaine his full attention.

The boys across the room were not so discretely attempting to listen in on the conversation without appearing like they were doing so.

"Hey." Blaine murmured.

"Hi." Kurt leaned over to kiss Blaine firmly on his plump lips.

"Well, hi Puck, nice to see you. Nice to see you too, Blaine. I'd like to talk to Kurt alone for a minute. Why don't you go talk to the guys over there? Okay, I think I'll do that." Puck mocked.

Blaine pulled out of the kiss, turning to look at Puck. "Sorry. Hi Puck. Now leave Puck."

"Nice, dude. Thanks." Puck said, grabbing his things and joining the other boys across the room.

"Blaine, that was rude." Kurt chastised.

"Sorry I can't be as gentlemanly as you'd like, Kurt." Blaine snapped. Kurt arched an eyebrow at his mates churlishness.

"Okay. What's wrong?" Kurt asked He was slowly starting to learn his boyfriend moods, but even if he wasn't, he'd have been able to tell that something was bothering his fiancée.

"You're not ashamed, are you? That we were together."

"What? Why would you even think that?" Kurt asked frowning in confusion. "I love you Blaine with all his heart."

"You covered up my marks." Blaine lightly fingered the scarf around Kurt's neck.

"It's a private thing, Blaine." Kurt answered. "I didn't exactly want everyone to know. I mean, I am wearing your ring and your family crest. What other mark of ownership did you need? Clearly I am yours. Did I do something wrong? Did I violate some sort of obscure vampire rule?"

"Umm… sort of. For vampires, it's almost like a wedding ring thing to make comparisons to humans. The marks are left to show possession. That you are mine and you are taken." Blaine said. "But if you're not comfortable, I don't want to push you into anything."

"I didn't know, Blaine. This is all new to me." Kurt unraveled the scarf from his neck and stashed it in his bag. "You have to explain these things to me if I do something wrong or upset you. No more misunderstandings. I am proud that we are together and that we're in love."

"I love you." Blaine kissed the hand where Kurt's ring was.

"Hey, no sex in the Common Room." Jeff called out. "Take it to your room."

"Shut up, Jeffery." Kurt and Blaine both called out with a laugh.

"You're the ones who reek of sexual desires." Jeff teased.

"At least we didn't have sex in the Practice Room and have the entire school knowing because of all the noise we were making." Kurt snorted.

"I really need to get some straight friends or Dalton needs to start allowing my Chosen One to spend the night. I'm feeling so left out." Wes pouted.

"What the hell, dude? I'm perfectly straight and so is Mike, even if he's always off somewhere with Tina." Puck shouted. "You guys are starting to give me a complex."

"Don't feel bad, Puck. He just misses David." Jeff comforted. "Do we need to get him to come home for you? After all, there's no lovin' like Wevid lovin'."

Puck laughed heartily, having missed how entertaining these boys were when he was subjected the hell hole that was McKinley High School.

"Jeffery," Wes growled. "You have a three second head start. Run…now!"

Jeff pecked Nick on the lips. "See ya later baby." Jeff raced out of the room.

"Don't hurt him too badly. I need in him working order later." Nick called as Wes raced out of the room behind Jeff.


	33. Chapter Thirty Three

"To be the mate of one of the Draculesti means that, to them, you are sacrosanct. None may gaze upon you unfavorably, none may speak ill of you, and woe betide any who bring you harm for they will incur the wrath of nature's most formidable creation and hell will be brought down upon their head."

-An excerpt from "The Draculesti" by Evangeline Hughes-Anderson

 

The halls of Dalton were bustling on the Monday after Spring Break because they all were counting those last six weeks of school until summer. As Kurt walked down the hallway with Blaine, Jeff, Nick, Puck, Mike, and Wes, he suddenly found himself the object of more attention than he'd had since starting Dalton last fall.

"Way to go Anderson."

"I knew he was getting some."

"I wonder how kinky humans like it?"

"Nice job on taming him, Kurt." Trent called out.

"Is this what I have to be subjected to?" Kurt turned and asked Jeff.

"Well… when you're the one the prince is su.."

"Jeff!" Kurt admonished.

"I was just trying to give you an answer." Jeff cheekily added. "If you don't want an answer, don't ask the question, Kurt."

"Jeffery, please don't."

"Listen, we're really happy for the both of you." Jeff earnestly said.

"Since when you do speak for me?" Nick asked.

"Since you became my Chosen One." Jeff said.

"See you want to punch him and then he does something sweet like that." Nick said, love in his brown eyes.

"Aren't you two sweet." Blaine remarked.

"Speaking for Puck and me, we'd like to request that you both remember that there are people on the floor who aren't getting any at the moment and keep it down." Wes just shook his head.

"Hey, you're not the one who has to follow them everywhere. I've seen way more of both of them than I ever wanted to." Puck grimaced.

"I told you that you didn't want to go into the locker room with me." Blaine shrugged. "It's not my fault you didn't listen to my warning."

"And at the pool." Kurt said.

"How was I supposed to know those weren't screams for help?" Puck retorted.

"Nice." Jeff said high fiving a widely ginning Blaine.

Kurt didn't want to go home without Blaine at his side, but there was no getting out of the fact that he needed to get a few things from his house and Blaine was unavailable.

"You really didn't have to come home with me to get some clothes, Nick." Kurt said as they turned into the driveway.

"You know what Blaine said, Kurt. You are not to come here alone, so you get me and my bodyguard since Blaine and Puck are off playing Council members." Nick joked as they walked up the driveway. He turned to his bodyguard. "You are to stay here unless you hear anything untoward and then act accordingly."

"Yes, Lord Duvall."

Kurt took a heavy breath and pushed open the door unhappy to see Carole 'dusting' in the living room.

"Hello Carole." Kurt tried to be pleasant to his step-mother.

"Hello again Mrs. Hummel." Nick was trying to be as respectful as he could, but this woman was making it hard by the way she was disdainfully treating her step-son.

"What are you doing here?" Carole demanded.

"There were a few things I needed to get from my room and then we'll be out of here." Kurt explained. He and Nick went to his room, quickly grabbed the things he needed and put them in a garment bag, and went back downstairs to find Carole waiting for them a sneer on her face.

"Looks like that school is doing something right for a change in protecting their students from you, at least I assume that's what that hulking brute outside my door is for. Or maybe it's so they can make sure you don't run away." Carole glared. "Where's your ankle monitor? I'm sure that vampire doesn't want to lose his little toy."

"She really doesn't get it, does she?" Nick asked Kurt.

"She doesn't understand about love, Nick. When is the divorce going to be finalized Carole?" Kurt remarked.

"It isn't. Your father and I are going to try to work things out," Carole replied with a smirk. Kurt narrowed his eyes.

"You're lying. You never would have been anything but a booty call to my Dad if he wasn't so honorable. There is no way that my father would take back a deceitful bitch like you!"

Carole saw red and the palm of her hand connected with Kurt's cheek, snapping his head back and gashing his cheek open with the ring on her hand.

"Lady, you just crossed a line you did not want to breach." Nick snarled.

"You're complaining when all I did was provide you lunch? Now get the hell out of my house and don't you ever come back and take the leech with you."

"Is there a problem here?" The bodyguard appeared practically out of thin air, taking a protective stance in front of Nick and Kurt.

"No, we were just leaving." Kurt said, gathering up the garment bag and slamming the door behind the three of them before Nick could protest.

By the time they got back to Dalton, Kurt's cheek was starting to bruise and throb. Nick was hovering over him like a mother hen, which combined with the pain in his cheek was giving him quite a headache. Rubbing tiredly at his temples, Kurt unlocked his door and went into his room. Nick closely followed him.

"Kurt, let me get you some ice."

"No, Nick. I told you I was fine. I've had worse."

"Had worse what?"

Kurt whirled towards Blaine's desk. He hadn't been expecting Blaine and Wes and Puck to be in the room. Blaine took one look at Kurt's face and his eyes blazed red. 

"What the hell happened?" Blaine thundered menacingly. "Nicholas you were supposed to be watching over him!" 

"It's not Nick's fault and it's not that big of a deal, Blaine." Kurt tried to shrug it off. "I can deal with it."

"It is a big deal to me, Kurt. No one is allowed to touch you like that. Now who did this to you?" Blaine firmly responded, expecting an answer as to why his mate's face was bruised and gashed.

Kurt shook his head. Blaine turned his angry gaze on Nick. "Nicholas?"

"I'm sorry, Kurt, but he's right. It was his bitch of a step-mother. She said some pretty horrible things to him and when he responded in kind, she smacked him and then offered him to me for lunch." Nick answered.

"She did what?" Blaine thundered. "Get him some ice, Nicholas. I'm going to Lima." Blaine issued orders.

"Blaine, you can't do that. It's not that big of a deal. I'm fine. I'll heal. Please don't do anything rash." Kurt begged.

"I'm sorry, but you're not getting a choice here. I've allowed them entirely too much leeway with you and that stops now. You are my Chosen One….a chosen one of a Prince of the House of Draculesti. You will be treated as such." Blaine growled.

"Blaine, you can't do this." Kurt cried.

Blaine steeled his heart, wanting to gather Kurt in his arms, but he had to be resolute in his dealings with the Hummel-Hudson family because it would reflect on him as a future leader of his Clan and the vampire community. More than that, he loved Kurt and would not allow him to be hurt by that woman anymore.

"Puck, make sure he stays here." Blaine ordered as he shut the door firmly behind him.

Kurt made a move to follow Blaine, but Puck picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, to stop him.

"Put me down, Puckerman." Kurt shouted and Puck dropped Kurt on his bed. "I order you to let me out of this room."

"Can't do that." He couldn't resist the smirk.

"I gave you an order, aren't you supposed to follow them?" Kurt haughtily said.

"Can't supersede the order of the prince, dude." Puck answered, planting himself in front of the door. "And honestly, even if I could, I wouldn't. She deserves every punishment that he chooses to dole out."

"You know he's being crazy." Kurt shook his head.

"No, dude. He's doing what he should have done a long time ago."

"Puck, come on. If you don't let me out the door, I will go out the window."

"Kurt, sit down and let me explain. I know you don't think of him that way, because he's just Blaine to you, but he's the prince. More than that, he's the Prince of the Draculesti. There are a couple things about our nature…we are protective, vicious, and lethal predators. Blaine has extended the people around you a tremendous courtesy by warning them of their disrespect in the way they speak to you, but for her to hit you? She's lucky that it's Blaine dealing with it and not Nathaniel or the Count. She would be dead. This is literally their last chance."

"Puck…"

"Kurt, Blaine will be the leader of an entire race and you will be his mate." Wes added. " Neither one of you can be seen as weak because let me tell you, there are plenty of people waiting in the wings for his position and potential power and they wouldn't be so nice."

"I'm going after him." Kurt opened his window only to step back as Jeff crawled in.

"Hey, Kurt. Going somewhere?" The cheeky blonde asked.

"Yes, to find my mate before he does something stupid." Kurt huffed.

"He's not being stupid." Jeff answered, having heard the whole story from Nick before he went to get ice for Kurt's face.

"Finn is five times his size." Kurt cried.

"And Blaine could snap him in half with his pinky." Puck said. "He's more bad-assed than me."

"Blaine has remarkable restraint. He should have kicked your step-brother's ass a long time ago before you and Blaine started dating." Jeff said.

Kurt was confused by Jeff's words. "What? Why? No one had any claim on me."

"Not to you, but Blaine had me watching you for months. He knew from the minute he saw you, that you were his." Puck answered.

"That's not at all creepy, Puckerman." Jeff tossed out the words before turning back to Kurt. "Kurt, vampires are drawn to humans for a variety of reasons. Blaine was drawn to you because, aside from the fact that you are physically gorgeous, you are an amazingly strong person who has been through so much and come out of it a compassionate, loving person. He had you watched because he was worried about your safety and wanted you to be happy. He loved you at first sight. We all knew it."

"Really?"

"Even when you were accusing us of being out to get you, Blaine knew in his heart that you were the one for him, but you had to realize it too." Wes responded.

Kurt sat down on his bed, taking the ice that appeared in front of him. Nick sat down next to him, putting a comforting arm around Kurt. He leaned against his friend, losing the battle with the tears that had been pricking at his eyes and they coursed down his cheeks.

"It will be fine, Kurt. Don't worry." Nick promised, rubbing his friend's back soothingly.

Lima

"Who do you think is going to win?" Carole asked handing Burt a bowl of popcorn as she sat on the couch next to Finn.

"I don't know Carole. You can keep the popcorn. I'm not…" Burt stared at the previously empty space in front of the TV where Blaine was now standing with a scowl on his face. "Hello, Blaine, can we help you?" 

"I'm sorry to interrupt your evening sir, but I've come to have a word with your wife and stepson," Blaine respectfully answered his mate's father. Burt was owed respect because he'd never been anything but kind to Blaine and all the boys from Dalton.

"I see," Burt said, sighing. "Carole, what did the two of you do to Kurt now?"

"What I did to Kurt? Why do you assume…" Carole screeched, rising from the couch.

"Silence!" Blaine snarled freezing her with a thought and forcing her to her knees. "Now… It's come to my attention that my Chosen One is being treated with significantly less respect than he deserves in his own home. More than that, you are trying to impugn my good name and trying to plant doubts in my mate's head. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt since I assume that you are too idiotic to understand the ramifications of this, but if you were vampires, I'd have killed you by now. And then you struck him. You hit him and drew blood and then offered what is mine to another. This I cannot and will not allow."

"You…you…you…" Carole stuttered. "He's not your mate yet. I know you two haven't made it official yet."

"You are on your knees at my feet and still you spit your vitriol at me. He's mine in all the ways that matter and that's enough for me." Blaine snarled.

Finn was livid. "Humph. Well, Mercedes said Karofsky has as much claim as you do since he bit him too. Actually more since he bit him first."

Blaine growled. "Mercedes Jones is an ignorant bitch who will never be more than the gutter trash she is. And Karofsky has no claim to my mate whatsoever because, you see, Kurt gave me something he never gave Karofsky and never will."

"Gross!" Finn's face twisted up in disgust.

"Now, onto matters of actual importance…we've given you leeway because you're Kurt's family and I didn't want him to be in pain. That grace period is over, particularly for you, Mrs. Hummel, because this is not your first warning. It is, however, your last. So let me make this crystal clear…if I hear you have made one more remark, one more snide or sarcastic comment or looked at him cross-eyed, I will personally drain every last drop of blood from both you and your dim-witted son and you won't even know what's happening until you feel my fangs. Are we clear on this? Nod if you understand… Good. Now, just so there is no confusion… if you ever lay so much as a finger on him again, there won't be enough of you left to bury. Do we understand each other?"

Carole and Finn nodded.

"Good. I'm glad we could reach this agreement. I'll be returning to Kurt now. Mr. Hummel, I trust we'll see you at dinner on Friday?"

"Wouldn't miss it kid. Give Kurt my love," Burt said. With a nod Blaine was gone as quickly as he came.

"We need to call the Council, Burt. We've been threatened. Our home has been violated." Carole whined as she got unsteadily to her feet.

Burt took a deep breath before dealing with his wife. "Well, we can call the Council, but according to vampire law, he is well within his rights. Aside from that, it's my home and my son's fiancée is always welcome here."

"You knew he was coming!" Carole accused with a glare.

"No, but I did do some reading when I found out about Kurt and Blaine. He's right…you should be dead. Blaine has been amazingly patient with you and Finn." Burt was working hard to keep his calm with his soon to be ex-wife.

"Of course you side with Kurt. You always choose him over our family, Burt." Carole cried.

"What family Carole? We are getting a divorce! I've been patient with you, but I'm done. You have two weeks to find someplace else because I'm selling the house and moving out," Burt growled.

"But we have no place to go!" Carole said, her lip trembling. Burt picked up the paper from the coffee table and tossed it to her.

"Then I suggest you get busy looking for someplace," he said. "I'm going to go check on my son."

With that Burt stormed out of the room in an exit worthy of his son leaving a shocked Carole and Finn in his wake.

As soon as he had stopped crying, Kurt had once again begun looking for escape routes to follow Blaine. When Blaine walked into his dorm room, he saw Kurt trying to get out the window and several of his friends with their hands on Kurt. After the confrontation with Carole, all of his protective instincts were on full blast and it took every ounce of his considerable will power not to shove the boys away and grab Kurt while yelling "Mine!"

"What are you guys doing?" Blaine asked with a forced smile. He knew the Warblers were Kurt's friends and weren't going to take away his Chosen One, but to see others with their hands on his mate was uncomfortable, especially tonight. The gash on Kurt's cheek was still red and angry looking and the bruise stood out darkly on his skin, but Blaine was pleased to see that at least he had stopped bleeding. The room went silent as the Warblers let go of Kurt and he crawled down from the window ledge to throw himself into his mate's arms.

"Blaine!" Kurt exclaimed giving Blaine a very thorough kiss before pulling away and punching him in the arm. "Don't do that again! Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"I'm sorry, but they left me no choice love. I'm just glad you weren't there, Kurt, because I was not nice or gentle with them."

"Blaine…"

"Kurt, I don't want you going back into that house as long as Finn and Carole are there. If you absolutely have to go, I will accompany you. If you go without me, I will not be happy and you don't want to see me like that, Kurt."

"You don't scare me Blaine Anderson!" Kurt declared icily.

"If you'd seen me tonight I suspect I would have, considering I just about made your stepbrother piss himself."

"Really?"

"Kurt I am known in certain circles as the Prince of Darkness," Blaine laughed lightly.

"A reputation that is completely without merit. You have never scared me." Kurt told his boyfriend.

'Never Kurt?" Blaine said, reminding Kurt that there was a time when he had. Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Ok, maybe once…. Long ago… almost lost in the recesses of my memory," Kurt admitted.

"I' m sorry if you were worried, but I couldn't let this slide. I love you Kurt."

"I love you too Blaine," Kurt replied. "But I am still mad at you. Puck explained why you were acting like you were. I get it, Blaine. I really do, but I want you to talk to me next time and not just fly off the handle. I am capable of taking care of myself. I may not be nearly indestructible like you but I am not some fragile little porcelain doll either. I'm going to be ruling beside you someday. How will anyone ever respect me if you fight all of my battles for me?"

"I've stood by for months watching them belittle you Kurt. I've seen you stand up to them and be the better person than them. Anyone who has seen it knows how strong you are, but she hit you love. She shed your blood and offered it to another… it was too much. I had to respond. I couldn't do anything else and I'm sorry that upsets you, but it's who I am. I won't fight all your battles for you Kurt, but I won't stand aside and see you hurt either." Blaine said fiercely, his eyes glinting with the intensity of his emotions. Kurt sighed looking at his mate.

"I suppose that I can't ask you to completely change who you are, but can you at least agree that you will talk to me before going off like that again?" he asked. "I know we're mates, but I want us to be partners too."

"I want that too, love, and I promise I will try to be less…"

"Scary Alpha Male?" Jeff offered.

"Overprotective," Blaine finished glaring at Jeff.

"That's all I ask Blaine," Kurt smiled, finally allowing Blaine to take him into his arms.

By the time Burt arrived at Dalton, all of the boys were lounging in the common room. Kurt was snuggled up to Blaine with an ice pack on his cheek, which was throbbing rather badly, not that he had any plans to mention that to his mate. Jeff and Puck were alternately cheering on and harassing Nick and Wes, who were attempting to play a game of chess. Kurt was more than a little surprised to see his dad come in.

"Mr. Hummel?" Blaine spoke before Kurt could, an edge of fear in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I'd like to speak with my son," Burt responded. Kurt sat up, worried. He grabbed Blaine's hand for support.

"Would you guys mind?" he said to his friends.

"No problem Kurt," Wes replied. "Come on guys. Let's give them a little privacy." The others quickly filed out of the room, and Kurt turned back to his dad.

"Blaine was just defending me Dad. I don't care what you say or what he did to Carole and Finn…" Kurt began.

"I'm not here about that Kurt," Burt interrupted. "Blaine did what he had to. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised it took this long for him to react like that." Kurt breathed a small sigh of relief. He didn't want to fight with his dad, but here was no way he would let him come between him and Blaine either. Beside him, he felt a subtle easing of tension in Blaine as well.

"What's going on then, Daddy?" Kurt asked.

"I just wanted to check on you Kurt. Blaine said she hit you," Burt responded. Kurt shrugged.

"It was anything major Dad. Blaine over reacted. I'm fine," he murmured.

"That why you're icing your face?" Burt growled. "After seeing that, I'm surprised Blaine showed the restraint he did."

"Dad! Must you encourage him!" Kurt huffed as Blaine grinned at his future father-in-law.

"Thank you Mr. Hummel."

"No problem kid. The other reason I came is that after this, Carole is on the warpath. It's probably best if you stay at school next weekend because I'm going to camp out at the garage for now."

"Thanks for letting me know. Have you decided what you're doing with the house?" Kurt asked.

"We'll be selling it since neither one of us needs a house that large. I was thinking of getting a condo since you're going to be mated soon and probably won't want to be living with your old man anymore."

"You know I'll be there if you need me Dad, whether Blaine and I are mated or not. I call dibs on decorating your new place though, just let me know when and where because you know I need to practice on my decorating skills for when Blaine and I get our first home" Kurt joked.

"Kurt…"

"No, Dad. I want to be there for you to help you. When are you planning on packing up the house?"

"It depends on how quickly it sells and how soon I find a new place" Burt acknowledged. It was hard to end a life that had taken so many years to get and now it was dissolving. As much as it hurt, it was definitely for the best since he couldn't trust Carole or Finn any longer.

"Whenever you do it, I will be there since packing an entire house is a lot of work and you know I have a lot of stuff. I don't trust Finn or Carole not to mess with it." Kurt couldn't do much for his father, but he could help him pack.

"The guys and I will be there to help too sir," Blaine added.

"Thanks kid. I appreciate that," Burt said, thinking about how fast they could be out of the house if the vampires helped and it would be a deterrent if Finn or Carole tried to start anything. "By the way, next time someone is late on their bill, I'm calling you, Blaine. That was an impressive appearance you made at the house earlier. I know I don't have to worry that Kurt is well protected here."

"I'm sorry you had to see that side of me sir, but I couldn't allow them to treat Kurt that way. I will always make sure he is safe, wherever he is." Blaine assured his future father-in-law.

"Having you and the other boys come into his life was the best thing that's ever happened to my son. I want to thank you for all you've done for him… for being there for him, especially because I wasn't," Burt admitted.

"Daddy, you were just…" Kurt began, but Burt cut him off.

"No son. Don't make excuses for me. I've failed you over the last year. I should have defended you more from Carole and Finn. I should have left her a long before I did. I'm sorry Kurt."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Dad. It was just a terrible situation and you did the best you could at the time," Kurt responded before hugging his father once more. "I love you Dad."

"Love you too kid."

"You ok?" Blaine asked once they were back in their dorm room, already knowing the answer.

"Not really. I wanted my dad to be happy and he's not."

"Kurt, I am so sorry, but there is nothing you can do here, but support your father."

"I know… it's just… Carole is a bitch, but it still sucks for my dad. He was supposed to get his happiness again." Kurt said. "I got mine and I just want him to have his too."

"Honey if he's not happy with Carole, than he shouldn't be with her, but that doesn't mean that he can't find happiness with someone else." Blaine said.

"I know I just can't stop thinking that, if it wasn't for me, they'd still be together."

"You are not responsible for their issues, Kurt." Blaine didn't want his boyfriend to take on all the blame. "They are adults and their problems ran a lot deeper than you, so you don't get to shoulder any of this. Do you understand me?"

"I know that logically, Blaine, but…"

"No buts, Kurt." Blaine said firmly. "We have finals coming up and we need to concentrate on those. We'll worry about everything else later."

"I suppose you're right," Kurt agreed, but Blaine could still see the worry in his mate's eyes and couldn't help but feel a slight sense of foreboding that his Chosen One would come out of this whole thing far from unscathed.


	34. Chapter Thirty Four

"His blood filled my mouth, burning its way down my throat. Pain ripped through my body and I'd have screamed had I the strength. My very skin felt as if it was being seared away by liquid fire when at last the blissful darkness overtook me. I awoke, I know not how much later, as a butterfly emerging at last from its cocoon. I awoke as something better… stronger… more. I awoke as a vampire."

-An excerpt from the journals of Mina Harker-Tepes 

 

"Kurt, you have to sleep. You can't keep going like this." Blaine begged his Chosen One several weeks later, the night before their last final at Dalton. Kurt had been running on coffee and a couple hours of sleep here and there for the last week. His Chosen One's eyes were so blood shot he could have passed as a vampire and his hands were shaking from all of the caffeine he had consumed.

"I have to pass these finals with A's, Blaine." Kurt didn't even look up from his book until Blaine snatched it from his hand.

"Give it back, Anderson."

"No way. You need to sleep if you want to have any hope of staying awake long enough to take the finals."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead, Blaine. Give me back my book." Kurt growled launching himself at Blaine and trying to snatch the book.

"Kurt, you have two options. The easy way or the hard way. You can choose to get in bed and sleep or be forced there. You know I have the power to make you if necessary."

"You wouldn't dare, Anderson." Kurt glared.

"You need rest, Kurt. Keeping up a pace like this is unhealthy. So either get in bed or I will put you there. You need to take care of yourself."

"Don't threaten me, Blaine. You know how important these grades are." Kurt replied.

"They're important, but not at the expense of your health. If you don't slow down, you're going to burn out and collapse. So…are you doing this the easy way or the hard way?"

"Blaine, I have to study and if you won't give me my book back, I will study something else." Kurt snorted and grabbed another book.

"That's it!" Blaine shouted. He gently pulled Kurt from his desk chair and forced him across the room.

"Blaine! I have to study." Kurt was yelling as his future mate began rapidly stripping him of his clothes and getting him dressed in pajamas and tucked into bed.

"I gave you the options, Kurt. Now, you are going to listen to me and you are going to get some rest." Blaine said determinedly. "Sleep Kurt." He ordered putting the full force of his mind behind the order. He was properly rewarded when he felt Kurt's body slowly relaxing and his breathing evening out and knew his Chosen One was tucked safely in bed where he needed to be. He knew there would be hell to pay when Kurt woke up, but it was well worth it for Blaine to insure that his mate was healthy.

Morning…

"How are you feeling this morning?" Blaine asked as Kurt woke up.

"How could you do that to me, Blaine?" Kurt hissed. "I thought you would never use your powers on me, except in an emergency?"

"Kurt that sort of was. You hadn't slept for over 24 hours. Baby, you were running yourself into the ground and I wasn't about to let that happen." Blaine said. "As your mate, it is my job to make sure that you are taking care of yourself."

"I am a person with a mind, Blaine. I can take care of myself." Kurt argued.

"Kurt, you didn't see yourself last night. You were scaring me and I did what I had to do to make sure you were safe and healthy. I'd do it again if I had to because you mean everything to me, Kurt, and I don't want to lose you." Blaine had been so worried as he watched Kurt morph into someone he didn't know and it scared him.

"Blaine, you are not going to lose me. I love you and I'm not walking away from you." Kurt reassured his boyfriend. "But you have got to let me make my own decisions and my own mistakes."

"I know. It's just very hard for me to see you suffering when I have the power to fix it," Blaine admitted. Kurt sighed.

"You know Nick's right. Just when you've really pissed me off, you do or say something sweet and I can't stay mad," he muttered.

"I'm sorry that I'm an overbearing, overprotective jerk," Blaine said, giving Kurt puppy eyes.

"You're not a jerk, overprotective maybe... but not a jerk," Kurt said rolling his eyes. "Now come here dork."

"God, I love you so much, Kurt." Blaine said pulling Kurt too him and nuzzling into his neck.

"I love you too Blaine, but please promise you won't do that again unless it's an emergency… like I'm having another panic attack or something. Agreed?"

"Fine… as long as you agree to take better care of yourself," Blaine conceded. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Rested and ready to face those finals." Kurt admitted as he crawled out of bed. "And no saying I told you so!"

"Get showered and dressed. I will go get breakfast for you and have it waiting."

"Thank you sweetie." Kurt smiled at Blaine.

"It's my pleasure." Blaine said before whisking off to get him breakfast.

"How did you do?" Blaine asked when Kurt made his way back to their room after his last final.

"I think I did amazingly well. I mean, the only one I was worried about was History but it was pretty smooth. Our grades are supposed to be up online later this evening. That's one of the great things about going here…not having to wait for your grades."

"Is that the only thing?" Blaine teased, grabbing Kurt and pulling him down beside him on the bed.

"I don't know there might be a few other perks." Kurt flirted with his boyfriend.

"Oh really?" Blaine smirked, nuzzling at his boyfriend's neck. "And what might those be?"

"Much better learning environment…" Kurt murmured.

"Uh-huh… anything else?" Blaine asked as he deftly removed Kurt's tie and began undoing the buttons on his shirt.

"Umm… better friends," Kurt breathed, suppressing a moan as Blaine nipped lightly at his jugular vein.

"That it?" Blaine had somehow managed to completely divest him of his shirt and his hands were wandering south to work on the rest of his clothes.

"Well… the Warblers do have this extremely hot lead singer. I hear he's taken though," Kurt gasped as Blaine fully sank his fangs in at the joint of his shoulder and neck unable to stop the moan which left his mouth.

"Oh, he's definitely taken," Blaine agreed pulling away and looking at Kurt with eyes which were blown wide with lust.

He removed the rest of Kurt's clothing and his quickly followed. Blaine stretched out over the top of his mate loving the feel of every warm inch of Kurt pressed up against him and the staccato beat of his mate's heart as he caressed the most intimate parts of him. He held Kurt pinned beneath him, licking, sucking and tasting everywhere. He left a trail of bite marks, never taking more than a few sips, but unable to resist the heady taste of the boy he loved. Kurt was frantic practically writhing beneath him and Blaine knew his mate was close to the brink. He moved his fingers down to Kurt's entrance, readying his mate.

"Please Blaine! Please I need you… I need you so much," Kurt begged. "I need to feel you. Please baby."

"Oh God Kurt," Blaine rolled Kurt over, moaning as he slid into his tight heat. Kurt was trembling beneath him, his throaty cries only serving to increase Blaine's desire. Soon he felt the clench around him that meant his mate had reached his climax and he allowed himself his own release sinking his fangs deeply into Kurt's shoulder as the other boy shuddered and moaned.

They collapsed into their bed completely spent and clinging to each other, Blaine licking lightly at the most recent mark he had given his mate, helping the wound to close. Both boys were almost asleep when there was a knock on their door.

"Go away!" Blaine sleepily ordered, nuzzling into his mate's back.

"Umm, you know I wouldn't interrupt unless it were important dude," Puck's voice sounded from the other side of the door. "Your father is waiting in the common room, though."

"My father?" Blaine said sitting up immediately and hastily throwing on clothes. "Let him know I'll be right there."

"Blaine? What is it? What's wrong?" Kurt asked as he sat up still looking rather thoroughly debauched.

"Probably nothing… it's just odd. My father doesn't generally make social visits to me at school," he replied tucking in his shirt and quickly smoothing down his hair. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you." He dropped a kiss onto Kurt's worried face and left the room. Puck was waiting outside the door.

"What's he doing here Puck?" Blaine asked frowning.

"No clue dude, but he did not look happy," Puck added. "He has my dad with him." Blaine arched an eyebrow and increased his pace to the common room.

"Father," Blaine said as he entered the room with Puck just behind him.

"Hello son. You're looking well. How's Kurt?" Nathaniel greeted with a slight smirk leaving Blaine no doubt that his father knew exactly what had taken him so long to get there.

"He's fine. We just finished our last finals and we both did extremely well," Blaine responded. Nathaniel nodded.

"That's good to hear," he said exchanging a glance with Joseph, Puck's father and turning serious. "I'm sure you've guessed this isn't exactly a social visit."

"I suspected as much. What's going on?" Blaine asked.

"As you know, we've suspected for a while that the more conservative element in our society was up to something," Nathaniel answered. "We've discovered that the Order of Akasha, who has been fairly insignificant up until very recently, is suddenly making a bid for power amongst the conservatives."

"I take it they've made some sort of significant step towards that?"

"Not exactly," Joseph replied. "What we're hearing is still just a lot of rumors. It's the nature of these rumors which has become concerning."

"Oh?"

"They have a new leader whose identity we've yet to ascertain, however he appears to be a very smart and very savvy manipulator. They have been stirring up a lot of animosity towards you Blaine, especially in regards to your choice of mate," Nathaniel answered.

"I don't understand why this warrants a visit Father. The conservatives have had issues with my sexuality since I came out and we sort of knew they weren't going to like the fact that my Chosen One was human," Blaine frowned.

"Yes, but they have never made the kind of threats they are making now."

"Threats? Towards whom?" Blaine asked, his face hardening.

"Kurt," Joseph said shortly.

"They lay so much as a finger on him…" Blaine growled, his eyes flashing scarlet.

"Calm down son," Nathaniel said firmly. "Right now all they are is threats. We're not getting any inkling of any specific plans, however, we feel it would be best to up the security on him for now."

"Kurt's not going to like that much," Blaine said carefully.

"It's for his safety your highness," Joseph replied. "He doesn't have to like it."

"I understand that, however, I think that we can hold off on increasing security until next week when we leave school. That will give me time to figure out how to break the news to him. In the meantime, if you can brief Jeff and Wes' guards, I think that will be enough."

"Alright Blaine," Nathaniel sighed. "We'll do it your way for now, but if we get anything more concrete, we will be increasing security… on both of you. We may have to look at moving up Kurt's turning as well. He will be much safer as one of us. You and I both know how vulnerable he is right now."

"No," Blaine said a look of determination on his face. "I promised Kurt I would not turn him until he was ready, and I intend to stand by that promise."

"I hope that you can son, but the time may come when you have no choice and I think perhaps you should come to terms with that fact."

"What are you doing here?" Finn snarled at Blaine and the Warblers as they walked into the house with Kurt that Saturday. Kurt glared fiercely at the taller boy. He no longer had to play nice so that he didn't ruin things for his father. He would not just meekly back down this time, but he wasn't going to go out of his way to start a fight either. That was not what his dad needed right now.

"Blaine is my fiancée. He's part of my family so of course he's here to support me. The others came with me to help me and my dad pack up our things because they are my friends." Kurt answered sharply.

"Don't you feel bad that you're the reason my mom and I have to move out?" Finn hissed taking a step towards Kurt. "Don't you feel anything about causing this mess?"

"I would stop right there, Finn, unless you'd like me to make you," Blaine snarled, barely restraining himself from bodily removing the boy from Kurt's vicinity. "Carole and Burt made an adult decision that involves neither you nor Kurt, so it is not for us to speculate on their reasoning. You've already been warned once, Hudson. Back off."

"Mom and I are going to be homeless." Finn griped.

"They're selling the house and splitting the money, Finn." Kurt answered tiredly. "And you and your Mom are moving in with your Aunt Susan until you get the money from it so you can get a new place just like my dad is getting a condo for us."

"Whatever dude… Just get away from me. I'm so glad I don't have to put up with you anymore," Finn growled.

"The feeling is mutual," Kurt called as the other boy stomped to his room to continue packing.

"That went well." Jeff commented.

"Could have been worse," Nick pointed out.

"Hey guys. Glad you could come and help." Burt graciously greeted the boys as he entered the room.

"We are here to help with whatever you need. We're really sorry about all of this Mr. Hummel." Nick said.

'Thanks Nick. Ok so… Why don't four of you come with me and the rest go with Kurt and help in his room. This shouldn't take too long with you guys' help." Burt said.

"Wow. You have a lot of stuff, Kurt." Nick commented when he walked into the bedroom. "Where should we start?"

"Start with the bookshelves please." Kurt said as he moved to his dresser and held the photo of his mother in his hands. He wasn't sure how long he'd looked at it when Blaine put an arm around his shoulders.

"Nick is done with the bookshelf. Do you want him to work on the desk while Jeff and I handle your electronics?"

"Yes, please." Kurt forced himself out of his trance and began to pack his most important belongings carefully. He would be taking these to Dalton until his father was settled into their new place. He didn't want these things to get lost or broken. By the time he was done, his room was almost bare. Nick had packed up the desk and bookshelf while Blaine and Jeff had properly dismantled his electronics and had them on the moving truck.

"You just have your closet left." Blaine gently said and Kurt realized that he and Blaine were alone.

"Where did they go?" Kurt asked.

"Your dad needed them downstairs to move some furniture." Blaine answered. "It's already past four."

"We've been here that long?" Kurt was shocked at how fast the time had blown by him.

"I need to go downstairs and get some boxes. Why don't you start taking stuff out of the closet?" Kurt said and disappeared out of his room.

"Are you still here?" Finn sneered at Kurt as he moved another heavy box.

"Finn, I know you hate me, but we can't…" Kurt didn't get to finish his sentence as Finn brushed roughly by him on the landing, knocking him off balance. Kurt knew it was going to hurt when he fell against the railing but he sure as hell hadn't expected it to give way. He cried out in panic as he felt himself start to fall. Suddenly Blaine was there, a hand on the thin fabric of his shirt, starting to pull him back up, but Kurt's relief was short lived as the fabric split in Blaine's hands and Kurt fell screaming into the glass table below.

"KURT!" Blaine screamed, at his mate's side in an instant. "SOMEONE HELP!"

The frantic screaming brought Burt, Carole and every Warbler in the house into the living room with faces ranging from shock and horror to anger. Finn stood at the landing, looking down in terror at the bright red blood seeping all over the floor. His eyes were wide with panic as he shook his head in denial.

"It…it was an accident… I didn't mean to… I didn't mean to," he stuttered.

"KURT! Oh my God!" Burt cried dropping to his knees next to where Blaine was cradling Kurt in his arms.

Carole stood in shock for a moment before a sinking feeling began to take over her body and she raced up the stairs, grabbing at Finn and pulling him down towards the front door. She had to get her son out of the house. No one attempted to stop her. Carole and Finn were not their concern at the moment. Kurt was, and if he died, there was nowhere they could hide that Blaine wouldn't find them anyway.

"Someone call 911." Jeff shouted.

Nick shook his head sadly from where he too was now kneeling next to Kurt trying to use the first aid his father had insisted he learn. "They won't get here in time. He's already lost too much blood. The glass has severed his femoral artery and his wrists have been cut to ribbons. He's bleeding out… it's… I'm sorry Blaine."

"Blaine." Kurt whispered and Blaine sat by his side. "It hurts."

"Kurt, please…"

"I need you baby. You have to turn me," Kurt gasped out, a bloody hand wrapped in Blaine's shirt.

"Kurt… no… you're not ready… we'll get you to the hospital and…" Blaine's words came out broken.

"You heard Nick. There's not enough time Blaine. I'm dying. This is the end of my human life either way." Kurt gasped and his eyes fluttered once, twice. "Don't make it the end of us. Please…"

"Damn it, Blaine. If you don't, I will." Nick growled, close to tears himself as he watched Kurt's life flutter slowly away.

"Just save him, please." Burt begged through his tears as he watched the crimson blood pool under his son in such a large volume.

Sobbing, Blaine allowed his fangs to lengthen. He leaned down and found the perfect spot on his boyfriend's neck. "I love you and I will be here when you wake up." He whispered to a nearly unconscious Kurt.

Blaine sank his fangs deep into Kurt's neck, taking the right amount of blood. Everyone watched in disbelief, horror, and anger as Blaine bit his own wrist and shoved the bloody dripping flow into Kurt's mouth.

"Come on baby swallow," Blaine pleaded watching anxiously until he saw the slight movement of Kurt's throat.

The minutes ticked by. Kurt's eyes had closed and the bleeding of Blaine's wrist had stopped. Kurt looked at peace in the moment but deathly pale and still. Blaine and the others all waited anxiously praying that Kurt had gotten enough of Blaine's blood to turn him before he passed out completely. They all heaved a collective sigh of relief when his body began to twitch and the more shallow cuts began to heal themselves. Blaine pulled out the shards of glass which were embedded in his mate's skin to speed the healing process refusing to let anyone else near enough to Kurt until the other boys brought in blankets and gently covered Kurt with them, protecting him from the setting sun's rays. Nick explaining to Burt that until his body had completely accepted the vampire DNA, he would be unable to tolerate sunlight.

"What happens now?" Burt anxiously said.

"We will take him to the Anderson's house and get him accustomed to the changes in his life." Nick answered, since Blaine seemed both unwilling and unable to concentrate on anything but Kurt at the moment. "I'm sorry Mr. Hummel. You won't be able to see him for probably most of the summer because it will be too uncomfortable for Kurt."

"You're telling me I can't see my son for months?" Burt asked in confusion.

"It will be too hard for him. He won't be able to resist the urge to feed, and until he has control of himself again, human contact is just too dangerous for both of you. Kurt will be learning a new life, sir, and he will be concentrating on that for the most part. It's a lot of changes and it's going to take a lot of time to deal with. You can call and text and email and Skype, but no face to face contact. It may be hard now, but this is for the best. Kurt will be well taken care of Mr. Hummel. I promise you." Nick assured the troubled father. "We should go now. We need to get him out of here. The light is going to start hurting him soon."

"Nick is right," Blaine said hoarsely, speaking for the first time since he had turned Kurt. "We need to get him to the car. Wesley, please call my father and ask him to have a room prepared and to get Dr. Duvall there if possible. Mike, call Tina and see if she'll come over I don't want Kurt's dad alone right now. Do you mind staying until she gets here?"

"Of course not Blaine," Mike said already pulling out his phone.

"Puck," Blaine said his gaze hardening. "Find them and bring them to me."

"I was just waiting for permission," Puck growled out the door in a flash, as Blaine stood with a blanket wrapped Kurt held securely in his arms.

"When he wakes up, tell him that I love him." Burt begged Blaine as he carried Kurt out of the house and gently laid him in the back seat of Nick's Jeep.

"I will, Mr. Hummel." Blaine answered. "As soon as he feels up to it, I will have him call or email you. And Kurt knows in his heart how much you love him. That won't change, ever."

Blaine climbed into the jeep beside Kurt, the other boys all piling into their own vehicles, starting them, and pulling away. Burt stood watching, unable to stop the tears from streaming down his face when Mike put a comforting hand on his shoulder.


	35. Family Tree

Family Trees for Scarlet Horizons

Anderson-Tepes Family

Gen 1- Vladimir Tepes m Mina Harker child: Catriona Tepes

Gen 2- Catriona Tepes m Ewan Anderson

Children:

Nathaniel m Evangeline Hughes: children- Cooper and Blaine

Sorcha m Ian Mcleod: children- Joey, Liam, Brian

Douglas m Katie Monroe: children- Conner, Trevor

Dylan m Jessica Sterling: children- Lauren, Jaime, Meredith

 

Gen 3-

Blaine m Kurt Hummel: children Weston Melody Harmony

 

Blaine Family Tree

Colonel Jedediah Blaine m Isabelle Devereux

Children:

Marshall, Artemis, Jeremiah, Genevieve

Genevieve m General Beauregard Hughes

 

Hughes Family Tree

General Beauregard Hughes m Genevieve Blaine

 

Second Gen Children:

Evangeline m Nathaniel Hughes:children- Cooper, Blaine

Duncan m Lily Cohen-Chang: children- Wes, Lucy, Jaelyn

Broderick m Priscilla Davenport: children- Camille, Claudia, Cissy

Susannah m Marcus Thompson: Children- David

Quentin m Clementine Quantrell: children- Beau, Jackson, Robert E. Lee

Harlen m Beatrice Steven: children- Ellis, Becky, Charlotte, Ashley

Carter m Blanche LeBeaux: children- Aiden, Brayden, Rosalyn, Vanessa

Daisy Belle m *Aurora Simmons: children Petal, Breezy, skye, Misty, Faun, Ryver

 

Third Gen

Blaine m Kurt Hummel: children- Weston, Melody, Harmony (M&H are twins)

Wes m Cordelia Smith: children- Lila, Dalton

Petal m Finn Hudson: children- Burt, Sunny, Stormy

Michael/Daisy parents of P,B,S: Jensen/Aurora parents of M,F,R

Sterling Family Tree

 

Gen 1-Charles Sterling m Melissa Emerson

 

Gen 2-Children:

Michael m Jensen Brooks: children- Jeffrey and Aneglica

Jessica m Dylan Anderson: children- Jaime, Lauren, Meredith

Christopher m Laura Cohen-Chang

 

Gen 3-

Jeffrey m Nicholas Duvall: children- Kurt, Noah, Alyssa

DaisyBelle is Jeff’s bio mom-- Aurora is Angelica’s

Duvall Family Tree

Dr. Fredrick Duvall m Tabitha Hoffman: children- Nicholas

Nicholas m Jeffrey Sterling: children- Kurt, Noah, Alyssa

 

m denotes mated couple


End file.
